The Blue Rose Renaissance
by Mangaka-chan
Summary: Helios' life took a dramatic turn when three strangers abducted him from Elysian. Thrust into a country he does not remember and handed a kingship he does not want, Helios must learn not only the duties of a monarch, but things which were long lost to him.
1. Prelude: The End of Day by Day

**_"The Blue Rose Renaissance"_**

Disclaimer: I do not own Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon or any of the characters created by Naoko Takeuchi-sensei. I do however, claim ownership to the original characters I have created for my fan fiction.

**This story is a continuation of my two other BSSM stories, "Return to the Past" and "Crystal Tokyo Interlude". These two stories will give you important background information when reading this story.**

A/N All thoughts will be in _italics_ since there's something weird going on with this website when I use different brackets. Also this fanfic will be partially based on some of Shakespeare's plays. Yes, I know a lot of people get a headache when they hear the word "Shakespeare" but I am not going to using iambi pentameter or old English prose so don't worry, only the plot of the story will be _partially_ based on the plays and let's face it, this isn't English class and as much as I enjoy Shakespeare's use of language I'm not going to ask the readers to analyze it and turn in a term paper, so enjoy! (Smile)

**Prelude "The End of Day by Day"**

_This is where all shall be decided... _

The person known by many as the Voice gazed into the giant churning pool of liquid light beside which she stood. She sighed and held her wand close. Closing her eyes, she listened to the many voices that floated through the cosmos, then stared down to the pool at her feet.

"Their lives connect and disconnect…" She lowered her head sadly. "The weavers go about weaving the tapestry but the threads are gradually coming loose. I wonder what the outcome would be…will the tapestry continue to grow or will it become torn and disintegrate?"

* * *

In a distant world, a young finch landed on a tree branch, its clean coat of blue and green feathers flashing in the morning sunlight. Jumping from its perch, the little bird leaped from the tree onto the windowsill of a beautiful marble building. As it sat there on the sill, the bird cocked its head from side to side, watching curiously as a white haired young man lay sleeping under his sheets.

Having left its nest recently, the little finch had seen little of the outside world and this mysterious figure puzzled it to no end. Curiosity drove the tiny bird to hop closer to this unfamiliar being until it was standing on the pillow, its tiny feet barely making a dent in the soft cushion. The finch looked at the figure inquisitively. It saw a face that was youthful and handsome, with a soft noble attribute that many would find to be attractive. Wisps of soft wavy hair fell across his closed eyes, like tender blades of grass draped across the earth. This was contrasted by a single red jewel in the shape of a teardrop on the center of the boy's forehead which quietly reflected the morning's light. His breath rose and fell gently, slightly shifting the clean white shirt he wore each time, clothes that matched the sheets on his bed. As his right hand lay upon his chest, a peculiar pink crystal pendent in the shape of a star and a milk white moonstone dangled on a thin silver chain looped around his wrist.

The finch shook out its viridian colored wings and decided to attempt contact. It let out a small chirp, as if shyly saying "Hello" to the stranger lying on the bed. For a few moments nothing happened. Then the figure's eyelids opened slightly, revealing a sliver of amber irises before closing then opening them completely.

Startled by the sudden movement, the finch jumped back, it's once neatly groomed feathers ruffled up by surprise.

The figure looked at the little bird and smiled apologetically, "Sorry, did I scare you?"

Hearing the boy's soothing voice, the finch felt its fright pass and tweeted, indicating that it was alright.

Sitting up, Helios offered the bird his hand and it trustingly hopped onto his index finger. "You must be new here. I don't believe I've seen you before..." the bird cocked its head to one side then back before it answered with a high chirp.

In the ensuing inter-species discourse, the human participant laughed and nodded his head in understanding as the avian participant proceeded with its high pitched narrative. "I see, so you've only left home yesterday. Well, it's understandable that you're a little frightened by the sight of someone you have never met before." The finch cheeped some more before fluttering back to the windowsill, looking to the lush green world outside.

Helios walked up to the sill and rested his elbow beside the bird and said, "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll be just fine. I am the caretaker of this land and if you have any trouble, you can come and talk to me about it. What do you think?"

The little finch piped happily, turned its head around as if saying its goodbye before it opened its wings and sailed off into the sky.

Helios watched as the tiny bird flew higher and higher. By and by the finch finally disappeared from view and Helios was left standing by the window. A patch of thick cloud was hovering by the sun before it gradually moving under the bright orb, covering up the light. Feeling the cool shadows overhead, Helios lifted his hand over his eyes "It's going to rain soon..." so saying he took his elbows off the ledge, sighed and smiled to himself "Hmm...I'll have to go to the Tower early today."

Soon after, Helios was dressed in his formal white and mint green attire with the dark blue bands around the cuffs of his sleeves. Pushing open the doors of his living quarters, Helios proceeded towards the pray tower which was in the back of the temple structure. Passing through a hallway, he walked past the giant library that housed books on all matters of interest. From Algebra to Zoology, Chemistry to Viticulture, every form of knowledge known from the days of the Silver Millennium was complied here. Although the library is many times larger than the biggest one on earth, all of the books have been perused by the single inhabitant who had access to them.

A large courtyard appeared on his left as Helios walked down the shaded corridor. This courtyard was small compared to some of the other gardens in the compound but it still held a dazzling array of floras. Roses, irises, peonies, poppies (only to name a few), and a number of flowering trees deck the garden which in the spring, would have dazzled the eyes of any onlooker. In the light of summer, green leaves showered the miniature park with patches of shade, each patch wavering gently in the soft zephyr. Flowers with names unknown to the people above took root here, some shyly sat under tall protective trees while others bathed in the full brilliance of the sun. Helios hid a smile as he came across this plot of earthly rainbow. Spring was still faintly in the air, even in a perpetually joyful place such as Elysian, and the flowers were blooming at their fullest in anticipation of summer. But right now was no time to stop and smell the roses. Helios had an important task to perform first. Relaxation and leisure would have to wait.

Turning one last time, a large door appeared at the end of the adjacent hallway. The tall wooden doors, flanked by equally tall walls, stretched far past each horizon. Helios paused before opening the door. Taking a respectful deep breath, he gently pushed against the entrance. The doors soundlessly opened at his touch as the marble prayer tower appeared behind the wooden pans.

Even after repeating this ritual for thousands of years, the majesty and weight of this place still amazed Helios. Beyond him the tower stretched into the sky, the sun shining behind it like the glory of some supreme being smiling upon its proud creation. The sight filled the priest's heart with peace and serenity. He set out for the tower, noting that the rain clouds he saw earlier were augmenting.

_The night will be cold today..._ Helios thought absently to himself as he walked. The day had started out with sunshine and from the looks of the clouds there was a downpour brewing in the skies. Suddenly the thought of life bring rain didn't feel as comfortable as it usually did. Helios shrugged the thought aside. _I'm thinking too much..._ he chided himself. _That is one of the consequences of living by yourself; you tend to over think just to keep your mind occupied,_ Helios smiled wistfully as he lifted his left hand to the tiny pendent hanging on his right wrist.

The adorable little pendent, which looked so out of place on a priestly figure such as himself, was very dear to the young man. The pendent was a memento from someone from another place and time, someone whom he had promised to met again. She had saved his life more than once, but was human as anyone else on this earth. The thought of her never tired Helios; with her in his mind he had been able to accomplish things he never thought possible, had pushed himself beyond his limits. But when would he see her again? This was a question that always followed his thoughts about her. During their last meeting eons ago they had promised to meet again. Because of the difference in space-time he has already endured many years of loneliness and possibly many more years to come.

Loneliness

The word sounded strange in Helios' mind. He had been by himself all his life except for the short time he spent in Tokyo. Not that he minded being by himself, but those were some of the most interesting and memorable times in his long life, so very different from his mundane day-by-day life. He had grown accustomed to it God knows how many centuries ago. But life wasn't completely dull here and the nice memory he had from his time on the surface did help. Even so, those memories now seemed so distant after a thousand years had passed. Yet here he was; the same as ever. He had grown only a little during that millennium, three years older by normal reckoning and looked a bit less like a boy and more like a man. But that had happened slowly, and it felt as if his time was being carried on the back of a snail, sliding by so slowly that it was hardly noticeable at all.

With all that empty time on his hands, Helios had never really thought of how alone he was in this world he lived in. The animals here kept him company and the dreams themselves were always interesting and fun to watch as they develop, but every once in a while he would notice there was still something missing, something that had filled in a little when he was with his Maiden but a large piece of it was always hollow. What was it? What is this emptiness that not even the thought of the bright and cheerful Chibi Usa can dissolve?

Helios gasped when he found himself already by the foot of the tower. He looked up at the structure and its numerous pillars. He cannot perform the prayers with a wandering mind; he has to leave these thoughts aside for now. Having decided upon that, step by step, Helios ascended the stairs, his hand on the guardrail, eyes focusing on nothing as he tried to clear his mind. Having gone up these steps nearly every single day of his life, Helios did not need to look at the steps to actually scale them. He knew the timing of each step innately, like climbing them was born into his blood.

Finally he reached the summit of the tower and walked over to the altar which rested in the center of the platform. Kneeling down on one leg, Helios closed his eyes and clasped his hands together in preparation for his prayer. Directing all of his thought now to the words he was about to speak, Helios began reciting the daily prayer.

"By the light of the sun and by the hope of the moon, I pray for thee, Elysian, for thou to be untouched by the eternal darkness which seeks to envelope and the wretched evil which seeks to destroy. Let thy peaceful existence be undisturbed for eternity and serve as the sanctuary for souls and dreams alike. Let this request be answered for upon my soul this prayer is said."

With that done, Helios opened his eyes and stood up. However he did not immediately leave the tower platform. Instead he put his hands together again and closed his eyes once more.

"Please watch over Chibi Usa-chan, let her be safe and happy."

The color in Helios' cheeks rose involuntarily when he said this private prayer. With a sigh of relief and satisfied with the knowledge that his important duties have been performed, Helios smiled.

"I'll be back tomorrow," he said to the familiar tower before turning to leave.

Just as he took his first step down the tower, the air around him started to behave abnormally. Helios froze in his track, feeling static electricity brushing against his skin as the air molecules became excited. In another split second the paved ground by the foot of the tower saw a tornado form out of nowhere, made up of a column of spinning sand-like particles. Helios felt his throat tighten at the sight. He forcefully calmed himself; this was no time to be afraid or to panic. He ran down to the bottom of the stairs where he was as close as he could get to the twister. Helios shielded his eyes with his arms as he tried to keep watch on the whirlwind, his hair and robes ripping in the wildly excited winds.

Suddenly, as quickly as the strange wind appeared, it dies down and the sandy like powder fell to the ground only to disappear into thin air as it touched the floor. Helios lowered his arm and he saw to his surprise, three individuals standing before him. Two of them were male, and the other was a girl. But what struck Helios was the fact that the girl had a sailor collar around her neck, signifying her position as a senshi.

The taller of the two males coughed, scowling as he waved his hand before his face. "Why the hell do they have to use this stuff? It's like the time when I got stuck in the middle of a sand storm out on the continent!" This vocal stranger was wearing a khaki colored uniform with a band of red sash hanging over his right shoulder, pined to his uniform at the shoulder with a gold button. At his waist was a broad belt made of a rich, scarlet red fabric that was neatly tied and tucked away in the back. His matching khaki colored pants ended just below the knees where the pants were tucked into a pair of shinny black boots. This lively stranger had a head of messy short red hair the color of dull rust, with a shade of bright copper when the sunlight shone upon it.

His animated violet eyes turned to his male companion who had slicked back ice-blond hair. The other stranger sighed and said under his breath, "If they don't use this 'stuff' then we wouldn't be able to get here, Horatio!" This stern faced young man wore a pair of round glasses, behind which a pair of shrewd intelligent blue eyes looked with both annoyance and resignation at the tall red head he named Horatio. This person's uniform was the same as Horatio's except its color was navy blue instead of khaki. The belt and sash were white, with the sash slung across the left shoulder and a pair of clean white shoes instead of the militaristic boots. The gold embroidered coat they two young men wore, with the unembellished white jabot tucked away underneath their coat collar and the cuffed sleeves clearly showed they held positions of power in their native land.

However the person who truly attracted Helios' full attention was the senshi standing with the two men. Her hair was the color of soft lavender, with the ends in a curl. Two strands of her bangs were also lightly curly while the rest fell straight against her forehead. By each side of her head, one long and wavy ponytail extended from below a blooming rose. But those were no ordinary roses; they were blue like the deepest sea and the richest of skies. Her eyes too were blue, like twin spring pools upon her fair face.

Her fuku was a hybrid between a graceful mandarin dress and a traditional kimono. The top of her dress where the white senshi collar met the brim of the dress was lined with a narrow line of lustrous gold followed by a broad band of royal purple, toped off with a thin stripe of leaf green. The dress itself was a light Prussian blue with an obi-like waistband that pointed down in a triangle at the bottom. The patterns on the band was that of a stylized blue rose with creeping green vines, similar in style to that of a peony in traditional Chinese patterns. The slits on the side of her dress goes up modestly to her hips, with the same flower pattern from her obi repeated on the front flap of the skirt, framed by the same border near her collar. The bows on her back had extending designs of curled, apricot colored flower petal on a rich blue background. There were also light green ribbons and gold lines that run down the top and lower border of the bows and in all, the bow looked as if a beautiful butterfly has attached its wings to the young woman's back.

The white gloves she wore reached the midpoint of her upper-arms and ended at the wrists where a blue band overlaps the white. An ivory white choker with a silver ornament hanging off the center was tied around the mysterious girl's neck and a length of gossamer ribbon was draped across her arms. Delicate crystal earrings hung upon her earlobes, swaying gently whenever she moved her body. Her high heels were white as well, with a sapphire colored fillet going around the edge and coming down the center front of each shoe. Taken all together she looked like a celestial maiden from a temple painting in ancient China who has been given flesh and blood.

"I think finding His Majesty is the more important issue right now, brother." The girl said in a musical voice as she looked to the young man with the pale blond hair.

Horatio nodded. "She has a point; we only have five minutes right? Let's stop wasting time and find him before time runs out."

"The head alchemist said the spell should bring us to exactly where he is." The senshi's brother complained as he stepped out of the circle they had been standing in "I guess we'll have to look in that building first..."

At that point he looked around and saw Helios standing by the foot of the tower. His entire body froze and the look of surprise on the stranger's face softened the sharp expression on his eyes. Soon the eyes of the other two arrivals fell upon him with the girl letting out a small gasp. Evidently they were as surprised as Helios and for several seconds the two sides stared at each other in complete silence.

Finally Helios had had enough of the tension and broke the eye contact he had with the blonde stranger. Taking a cautious step back, Helios' expression turned serious as he eyed the three suspiciously.

"Who are you and what do you want here?" he said soberly, ready to summon the Golden Crystal if he needed it.

At this the three again looked astonished. A disappointed and troubled look crept into the girl's eyes as she whispered, "You don't...remember us?"

Helios blinked, "What..."

Horatio pushed past the senshi and shouted, "It's us you idiot!" He walked past the person with the glasses and looked Helios straight in the eye. "It might have been ten years but how could you not recognize us? I'm Horatio, he's Laertes, and she's Ophelia; how could you possibly not remember us!"

"I-I have never seen any of you before!" Helios frowned; confusion was drawn across his face.

At that point Laertes put his hand on Horatio's shoulder. "I think he really doesn't recognize us...they must have done something to him." He concluded simply, a keen look in his icy blue eyes. He brushed past red-haired Horatio and said to Helios, "You must come with us, Sire. Apparently the people who are keeping you here have done something to your memory. Come back with us." He stressed and reached to take a hold of Helios' arm.

Helios pulled away and replied strongly, "I am here by my own free will. This is my post, I am not going anywhere."

Laertes looked silently at Helios for a moment longer before he looked down and pushed his glasses up with one finger. "We're running out of time...I'm afraid there are no choices left then...Sailor Somnus."

Helios watched her as the girl nodded and took out a vial. He knew these people were about to do something and he had a feeling he didn't want to find out just what they had in mind. But before he could move away, the senshi was standing in front of him.

_She's fast!_

That was the last thing Helios remembered thinking before she opened her palm and blew a fairy dust like powder towards him. "I'm sorry Helios-sama..." he thought the girl said before the world turned black.

A/N Wahahahaha! I'm soooo happy that I finally get to start writing this! This story has been pouncing around my head since the end of "Return to the Past" and here it is! I think most people have figured out one of the Shakespeare plays I'm using, and yes, Helios is going to play the role of that infamous prince (evil chuckle). But seriously, most Sailor Moon fanfic about Chibi Usa tend to leave Helios underdeveloped and I wanted to write a story that focuses more on him. Not only is he my favorite character from BSSM but I think he also has potential to be a very complicated character who's worth developing further.

By the way, Somnus means sleep, but I think that one's pretty obvious.


	2. Portrait in the Room of Broken Windows

**Act 1 "The Portrait in the Room of Broken Windows" **

The unfamiliar scent was the first thing that crept into Helios' mind as he began to regain his consciousness. Slowly, as if his mind was dragging through a viscous fog, Helios began to comprehend the information his other senses were gradually conducting to him. He was laying on something soft and smooth and a similar material was coving him on top. It was warm and he realized he was laying in a curled fetal position. There was no sound reverberating in his ears, only the soft breath that comes when one awakes from a deep sleep. No penetrating beam of light blinded him from behind his eyelids and as Helios gradually opened his eyes, all he saw was a hazy picture of a large dim room with a dark gray floor.

_What's going on…this isn't my room…! _At that, the memories predating his sleep rushed back into his mind. There were three strangers, one of who was a senshi; she was the one who had blown that powder into his face. Helios' drowsy eyes snapped open as he bolted up from the bed. He looked around franticly, seeing a totally unfamiliar bedroom spread out before him.

He was lying on a giant four poster bed with golden silk sheets. The floor was covered in a deep, Prussian blue carpet upon which various furniture were placed. Beautifully upholstered chairs, oak colored cabinets and drawers sat beside walls where masterfully painted pictures of foreign scenery were displayed. Curtains were pulled over round windows one fourth the size of the Big Ben's clock face. The window closest to his bed had been partially drawn, allowing some light to pass through into the room. The walls, which in the dim light looked gray and silent, were in fact cream colored and their color matched the gold trimmings in the room when the sunlight shone upon it.

Helios squinted his eyes as he looked to the window, his eyes adjusting to the bright light outside. Lifting the covers aside, Helios looked down and discovered his clothes have been changed while he had been unconscious. He now wore a long white tunic with a thin band of intricately designed gold vine creeping around the loose cuff and below the collar. Two buttons below his collar were fastened together and the neckline was high enough to cover his collarbones. A slit in front of the knee-length skirt went from the bottom of the pullover to his waist, allowing him to freely move his legs without the clothes confining them. The shirt fitted his figure perfectly, as if someone had tailored it to his measurement. The same goes for the white pants he wore, with matching borders to the shirt running half ways down from the waist on the side of the pants. Realizing that whoever took the liberty of changing his outfit might have removed his precious memento as well, Helios quickly raised his right hand and was relieved to find the necklace still hanging around his wrist.

Looking back to the partially opened window now, Helios frowned. _Where am I?_ he asked inside. Pulling the cover completely off of him, he stood up and walked to round window. Helios took a moment to adjust to the bright afternoon sunlight then drew the curtains apart and saw to his amazement, a huge city not far in the distance. The city was built beside a vast coastline, and from his vantage-point the natural harbor that stretched to the south was dotted with boats and ships. The fact that the city looked so small puzzled Helios until he looked down and realized the building he was in was constructed on top a small mountain. Below his window, the blue triangular roofs of other structures could be seen. A tall bell tower rose to his right with a silver rod on top that extends into the air. There was a small courtyard directly below him and Helios saw two young women, both dressed in the same conservative maids' outfits walking past a patrolling squadron of armored soldiers.

At that moment Helios hears a click behind him. He turned around and found another girl dressed in the identical costume as the two other girls he had just seen standing by the door. Her eyes fluttered in astonishment then clumsily bowed and hurriedly left the room.

"Wait!" Helios went after her, but as he got to the other side of the room, someone else walked in; it was the girl with long lilac hair.

Ophelia was breathing deeply, as if she had just ran but her hair was neatly arranged and a relieved expression was on her face when she saw Helios. "You're awake, Helios-sama" she smiled and a look of gentle happiness washed into her blue eyes. The entrance of this unfamiliar girl whom he recalled vaguely in his mind startled Helios. Looking at her dress, Helios began to recall that she was the senshi he had seen appearing in a whirlwind of sand.

Her dress was similar to the senshi fuku, but only the obi and bow were the same. The top of the dress was royal purple and had a waved line in the middle of the chest make by two colored bands of varied width and color. The top also had a short shoulder flap that covered the edge of her shoulders, bordered by a band of gold around the edge. Her skirt now was much longer than her fuku's skirt. It reached all the way down to her ankles and the rose pattern at the bottom of her fuku wasn't reflected on this relatively simple dress. On her arms were glove-like sleeves with a large section of white fabric hanging out by the forearm, like the sleeves of a Japanese kimono. Gone were the choker and the floating transparent fabric, giving the girl a more earthly quality than Helios had perceived upon their first encounter.

Just as Helios finished his observations on Ophelia, other people rushed into the room. First was the young man with the round glasses, now carrying a folder in one hand. When he came to the door his eyes immediately flew to his sister.

"What's wrong Ophelia? You ran off after that servant spoke to you…oh," Laertes inquired until he saw Helios standing in the middle of the room. He coughed, quickly composed himself and bowed respectfully. "Your Majesty"

Next the boy with the red ruffled hair entered. Now carrying a sheathed cutlass at his side, his heavy boots pounded loudly against the floor as he entered. Like Ophelia his face brightened when he saw Helios. He immediately proceeded to tease the confused boy with good-humor "It's about time you woke up, I thought you were going to end up in a coma!"

Laertes sighed irritably and whispered "Please, show some respect Horatio."

"Oh come on, this isn't the Royal Assembly we're standing before, relax for once Laertes or else you'll become one of those grouchy old man before your 20th birthday!" Horatio joked.

Ophelia stifled a giggle at her friend's joke as she drew the curtains.

Helios looked blankly at the three; once again feeling utterly bewildered with the situation he was in. Then a hearty laugh came from behind the door and soon a middle aged man appeared. He had neat dark purple hair pulled back in a short ponytail, and the few wrinkles on his face were curved in merriment as he walked in with a smile on his face. The pointed mustache on his face was trimmed neatly and he held a walking stick cast with a broad silver collar around the top in his right hand. Two layers of silky white jabot were flowing down from his collar, each as white as a sheet of snow. He wore a simple white shirt underneath his knee-length hunter green overcoat which from its skilled tailored trims and rich fabric one could deduce he was a character with an impressive background.

"Well said there Horatio! My, my, young people sure are energetic. All of you got here before the old man did!"

The older man walked further into the room and to Helios' surprise the girl and the blond haired youth bowed their heads in respect. Even Horatio sobered a little but not before the sight of the man turned his lips into a smile.

After Ophelia had shown her respect, she looked to the man "When did you arrive Father? We thought you were supposed to be meeting with the other Parliament members today."

The man made a gesture of non-care "How could I! Remember; my foremost duty right now is to assist his majesty. Besides, people in Parliament are all peevish old men and all they ever do is argue and complain."

Laertes moaned and shook his head disapprovingly "You are the Chief Advisor, Father; you are _suppose_ to stay for the entire assembly! That's your job!"

At this time Helios decided he's had enough of being the subject of a conversation he did not understand. Stepping forward, he willed himself to speak and said to everyone in the room "Excuse me but could someone please explain what this is all about? Where am I, why have you brought me here?"

With that, everyone's eyes turned to him. Helios suddenly got the feeling it might not have been a good idea to be so bold. The older man however, only smiled gently and shifted his walking stick to his other hand, "I apologize, forgive me for not explaining the situation we have put you in." Then unexpectedly, he held the walking stick behind his back and bowed low, placing his right hand over his chest "Please to meet you, Your Majesty."

"What…" Helios stared at the man in disbelief. The tone of the man's voice was filled with dignity and sobriety; it scared Helios to have someone speak to him in such a way for the first time.

The man straightened his back and walked closer to Helios "Please sit down, Sire. There are many things we have to explain to you. But first, allow me to make a few introductions. I am Polonius, former Chief of Interior. Even though I wished to retire I have been appointed by the 'old men' in Parliament to be the Chief Advisors of the Royal Assembly to you upon your return."

He smiled humorously, turned to the others and gestured with his hand. "This young man here is Horatio, the Captain of the First Imperial Battalion. He is a master at blade weapons, is an excellent marksman, and an expert in hand-to-hand combat. He's also only two years older than you." Horatio grinned and ceremoniously bowed like Polonius had, towards Helios.

"This two are my children, Laertes and Ophelia." Ophelia curtsied by folding her palms together by her waist and bending her knees. Laertes straightened his back then bowed with a serious attitude that bespoke his personality "Laertes is currently serving my former post in the government, and I might add he is the youngest person ever to fill that office." Polonius winked and Helios could tell this was one father who was proud of his son. "Ophelia is a year younger than you but she has attained the powers of Senshi at age eight. Another unprecedented achievement."

Helios looked surprised. Polonius seemed pleased with his reaction and went on "She has the protection and powers of the Blue Crystal and though she might not look it, is quite skilled in agility and knowledgeable in the use of the blue rose." Ophelia blushed at this comment and looked down at the floor with adverted eyes.

"The blue rose?" Helios asked. As far as he knew there was no such thing as a blue rose; not even in Elysian has he seen such species exist.

Polonius nodded, "Yes, the blue rose is the most important symbol of this country. In a way it is our identity as a nation, our insignia." He motioned for Helios to sit down, a sign that what he was about to tell him something lengthy. Helios complied and sat down in one of the nearby chairs. The others stood around him as Polonius walked to one of the round window and looked out into the city outside. "As you may suspect, the blue rose is indeed a famous flower that grows in this country. It looks just like an ordinary rose but its color is one of a kind. It also has many unique properties, one of which is its effects as a sedative." Polonius said with a light apologetic tone in his voice.

Helios nodded and the ex-Chief of Interior continued "The reason the rose is important is because it thrives here and only here, and as I've said, has long been a symbol of this country. Not only does it have aesthetic values and medicinal uses, but it is also used for other things such as perfumes, dyes, and is an essential component in certain fields of magical arts."

At this Helios raised a curious eyebrow but Polonius failed to notice and went on with his lecture "The name of our country is Rhodes and it is located on the planet we call Somnus. Rhodes is an island 84 miles off the East Coast of the Continent. The island has an area of about 60million square miles, is divided into 37 provinces and according to the last census, has a population of approximately 30 thousand people. This magnificent city, which is also the capital of Rhodes, is Elsinore and is located on the southwest coast of the island where the major trading with the Continent occurs. Agriculture, manufactured goods, and shipbuilding are some of the industries in our economic. Trade however, is the most important industry of our country. The blue roses are the main export since no powerful healing potion or conjuration can be performed without it. The rose is so important to us that it is illegal for most people to use it as a decoration. The only reason Ophelia is allowed to wear the blue rose you see in her hair is because it is a sign of her identity as a Senshi. Only the high nobility, the Senshi, and the Prophetess are allowed to wear the rose on their persons."

"Was the rose also used in creating the portal that brought you to Elysian?" Helios asked tentatively.

Laertes nodded once "Yes, the alchemists and mages had to use a large quantity of the rose to create the excursion circle needed to travel through time-space."

"But why did you bring me here in the first place? You say I am a king but that cannot be true! I am the priest of Elysian, you must have found the wrong person." Helios argued, looking intently at Polonius.

Ophelia shook her head "No, the kingship belongs to you and you alone. We are not mistake; you are the next king of Rhodes, Helios-sama."

Polonius nodded in agreement "She's right. That red jewel on your forehead is all the proof we need." Helios jerked his head back a bit, and frowned uncomfortably. Polonius knelt down before Helios and looked into the boy's eyes. "For ten years now, the throne of this kingdom has been empty and many had given up hope of finding you. But you are here now and you are the long lost heir to the throne, only you can take up the position of king" He emphasized.

A strange sensation went up Helios' spine as he heard this. This was preposterous! How could he possibly be a king? Helios reflected his thought in his words "Then why do I not know anything about this-this place? I had been Elysian all my life, I have never heard of Rhodes or anything relating to it in my life! And even if I was the king, why would I be on Earth?"

A heavy silence filled the room. Polonius drew out a long sigh and stood up "I cannot say how or for what reason you went to that planet called Earth. But I can tell you this Sire, this country needs its king."

Polonius' eyes bespoke a sincere earnest, reflected in his words "Although our country is prosperous, it has been in near constant civil conflict for the past decade. The late king, your father, passed away shortly after you were mysteriously abducted. Nobles and high ranking officials fought over who will rule the country. Some wanted to choose a leader from the pool of potential candidates from Parliament and have him lead the country for the time being, while others wanted the closest of kin to immediately succeed the throne. The issue was heavily contended and was finally decided by a narrow margin that the Parliament as an entity will take control until the chain of inheritance could be worked out. However many of the nobles did not agree, some of whom were violently opposed to this decision. Thus they decided to take control of the country by force. Many began amassing supplies and weapons while others tried to induce influential nobles who were undecided on the matter into their fold. However, the government recognized their plan and retaliated first by ordering the army to round up the rebelling nobility, charging them with sedition. Some were executed but others went into hiding and with their collective wealth and influence came together as a confederation to oppose the established administration."

"Thus the country was split into two, the Parliament forces and the rogue nobles. While they fought, conflicts between each faction began to develop and deepen until the people of the Parliament controlled government and the leaders of the rogue nobles were in conflict amongst themselves. Fighting amongst themselves and with each other, the country was torn to pieces. Families were torn apart, for many sons of the remaining nobility supported the rouges while their fathers were fateful to the Parliament. The economy was disrupted by the outbreak of civil war and innocent lives were lost amidst the chaos that ensued. Hundreds of thousands lost their lives and their home. Pastures were turned into battle fields and laid to waste with artillery, polluted with blood and death."

At this point Polonius took a deep breath and paused. Helios saw the jolly eyes he had beheld shortly before were now shadowed with the disturbance of turbulent memories. "It wasn't until about a year ago that having exhausted their resources, the two sides decided to finally work out a truce. They had tried negotiating before but things had always fallen apart due to the fault of one side or another. The reason the truce was established was because we have finally been told that the line of rightful kings has not been lost after all." Polonius' face began to brighten again as he smiled at Helios. "When an official went to the Holy Sanctuary to ask about the future of the country he was told by the Prophetess Pythia that the rightful king was in fact alive and well. She also gave clues as to the whereabouts of the lost prince and when this information was disclosed to the two factions they decided to relent, for the Prophetess never lies."

"She told that official that the prince was living on a planet with one moon, sitting in the third seat from its star. She also revealed that it was a hidden place, a place where the eyes of men cannot see but is very much real. Although these clues were not very specific, through careful assessment and investigations carried out by the court Mages it was discovered that you would be on a planet called Earth. I was that official, the one who went to the Sanctuary and received the revelation. I recruited these three to find you because they were most familiar with you, for you grew up together and known each other since your earliest days. We thought it would be easier for you if you met some people you had been familiar with but that turned out not to be the case…"

Helios was speechless, his eyes gliding from Polonius to his own hands. The information Polonius had just given him was still swimming in his head as he tried to absorb all of it.

Seeing the impressed mood the boy was in, Polonius tried to consul Helios, "You don't have to worry about taking on all of this in a day's time. There will be many eager people to help you along the way. The important thing right now is that you're back and slowly the country can fall back into shape."

Hearing this, Helios' mind realized what Polonius meant and he snapped his eyes back to the man, saying "But I can't stay here; my duty lies else where! I wish to return there as soon as possible. I cannot accept this position!"

A gasp went through the small crowd and even Polonius looked surprised. Helios stood up and turned away from them, suddenly afraid to face them and repeated more gently "This is not my place…"

"But this is your home, how could you just leave us again after we've finally found you!" Horatio asked, one hand tightening into a fist "We waited, never giving up hope that you were still alive. Now that you came back, you…" He looked away and drew his brows together "you don't even remember us…"

Ophelia put her hand on Horatio's shoulder and said softly "Be calm Horatio, you must consider the fact that it's difficult for him to make such a decision after being forced here and without his past memories." She looked to her father and said, "I think we should let Helios-sama rest Father, he's had a long day."

Polonius paused, then nodded in agreement. "Very well then, you have a point Ophelia. Farewell and good day to you, Your Majesty," he said neutrally before he bowed and walked out of the room. Horatio took a minute longer and took a hard long look at Helios before leaving. After him was Laertes, who bowed and exited soundlessly.

With everyone else gone, Ophelia looked back to Helios and smiled as best as she could "We are sorry if we have make you uncomfortable Helios-sama, but please understand, what my father has said is true. If you leave again then I'm afraid the fighting that has been going on for the last ten years will continue…I'm afraid it might never end after that…" She caught herself and quickly curtsied. "I will call the servants to help you change in just a moment. I will be taking my leave now, I shall come in to see if you need anything later in the evening."

She turned and slowly closed the door of the bedroom behind her, the hinges creaking slightly as they closed. Helios let out a deep sigh once the door finally closed. He walked over to one of the covered windows. Drawing the curtain aside, Helios stood looking out at the city below him. A city he had never seen before, people and places he does not remember, an unwanted crown waiting for him, all this had been piled upon him in one day's time. Helios ran his hand through his feathery hair then lifted his other hand to touch the windowpane. The glass felt cool, absorbing some of the heat that has built up in his body from the long, distressing and confusing conversation. The clear lens against his fingers felt pleasant and smooth to the touch, Helios realized. This simple touch of the glass has removed some of his anxiety, as if clearing his mind. Somehow, since he woke up about an hour ago he now felt more relaxed and comfortable in this place. But why, this room, this country is alien to him, why does he feel this way? Helios mused to himself as he took his hand off the window and buried his chin in his palms as he looked absently out the window.

* * *

Helios looked doubtfully at him reflection in the large floor-length mirror as three servants helped him straighten out his new outfit. He had never worn something as luxurious as the clothes that they had prepared for him. A long coat with square patches of velvet red coming from the chest down to the bottom was worn outside a crisp white shirt with a stand up collar buttoned by a ruby button. A dark red band served as a belt, wound tightly around his waist and tucked away in the back in accords with the traditional style of this country. 

Helios tugged uncomfortably at the collar, looking at the mirror shadowing the red and snowy colored coat. The short period of ease he had gained while standing by the window had been erased when three male servants entered and politely declared that they were to help him dress. Initially, Helios had told them he could perform the task by himself but the elderly head attendant only smiled bemusedly and replied that this was a chore better left for the servants to do. Helios had given in upon the man's insistence but now decided he should have dressed himself after all, at least he could breath if he had.

A light knock came from the door and the head servant went to the door and spoke a few words with whoever was at the door before coming back into the room. "Lady Ophelia desired an audience with you Sire." The old man said courtly.

"Oh, let her in please…" Helios replied as he pulled his hands away from his collar. The man nodded and gestured to the two younger men. The trio bowed and silently left the room. As they went out Ophelia smiled to the elder and curtsied once again as Helios walked towards her.

"Good afternoon Your Majesty" she said without looking up.

Helios smiled and felt a little embarrassed as she looked back up again, "You don't have to be so formal, I'm afraid it makes me feel awkward…"

"Oh...very well then; Helios-sama" She smiled back timidly, her crystal earrings jingling slightly as she smiled. Helios smiled wearily, since in his mind "sama" wasn't all that different from being called "Sire". At this time Ophelia turned her eyes away and said softly "I must apologize for what I did to you, it was the only available option at the time and I had to take it. Please accept my sincerest apologies." She said with her face looking down.

Helios didn't say anything at first. He should be angry at her for putting him into that sleeping spell and kidnapping him here but he found that he couldn't muster up any anger towards her. She was just doing her job and having been around the senshis of Earth, Helios couldn't argue against that. With a small sigh he nodded "I accept your apology."

Hearing this Ophelia let out a breath of relief and smiled more at eased than before. She then looked up and said "I was wondering if you would like a tour of the palace...It hardly seems fitting for you to be cooped up in this room all day."

"I suppose…" Helios said reluctantly and at this Ophelia's blue eyes.

She turned and began walking away smiling "There are so many things I have to show you. Let us hurry before the sun sets " Helios staggered after her, surprised by the burst of energy such a delicate looking girl could display.

After being shown innumerable number of bedrooms, ten ballrooms, seven libraries, and five separate gardens, Helios and Ophelia stopped in the middle of a huge hallway. Looking at this strange person who a day ago had been his captor and now his subject, Helios was still amazed by the vitality a girl of her figure could be so alive and decided being a senshi, she's probably in better shape than he is. Though not ecstatic or giddy, Helios could tell by the expression on her face that she enjoyed this walking tour she had taken him on. It was almost as if she had been looking forward to this for a long time and it make her eyes glow. Why was that, Helios wondered? Perhaps being with a prince was exciting to her, though he had never felt anything like this when he was living with Prince Endymion. Polonius had said earlier that she was his childhood friend. Maybe that was the reason why she was excited. She hadn't seen him in all those years and now he's back. But Helios had a feeling that it wasn't completely that either.

_Childhood friends…_ Helios thought to himself. That's what they say, but he doesn't remember anything about these people. Ophelia spoke to him as if she had known him forever and this bothered Helios somehow. It wasn't as if Helios dislikes her but being in this situation troubled him. _Could it possibly be true that what they've said is real, that I am who they believe me to be…What should I do?_ Helios questioned himself, the doubt in his mind growing by the minute.

"We use to explore the palace together when we were children, Horatio, my brother, yourself and I." She suddenly said, turning her face to look at Helios, driving his thoughts away. He turned to look at her and saw the cheer on her face had dampened and she looked aimlessly at one of the large circular windows in the hallway "If that hadn't happened we might have found you sooner but…"

Helios looked questioningly at her. Just as he was about to ask her what she meant, she moved away and her smile returned "Oh, I almost forgot why we are here! You must come and see the Compass Chapel, it's beautiful at this time of the day!" so saying she led him around the corner and down another corridor. Soon they were standing in front of a giant door with designs of roses and vines creeping around the frame.

Ophelia lightly pushed against the doors and said "Watch." The doors opened and a flood of light rushed into Helios' eyes. He blinked and when his pupil has adjusted he gasped in awe at what he saw. The center of the chapel was decorated with a gigantic rose window with different colored stained class creating a rainbow of colors. As the light from the sun shone upon the glass, the light fall as dyed rays of sunbeam unto the white marble floor. The outside rim of the giant window was covered in stylized designs of blue roses in full bloom and a smaller circle with the arrows of a compass in the middle, giving the chapel its name. Other slightly smaller windows flanked the large central rose window except they were the same of two fused pale yellow diamond shapes rather than the round shape most windows took on here in the palace. The center of the smaller windows had a piece of clear glass in the middle of the upper and lower diamond. The glass itself was cut into a diamond shape, fitting in with the overall shape of the window. Looking down, Helios saw that each piece of the window was carrying light through its body, letting the colored light into the room and illuminating the floor into a pool of dizzying multicolored light.

Statues of people in unfamiliar robes, some carrying tablets and some carrying swords stood intermittently upon pedestals of stone between the windows. Below the central rose window was a semicircular platform, like one would see in a church except there was no altar. Rolls of neatly carved wooden seats stood in two roles from the very front of the room to the very back. Looking up, Helios saw a ceiling painted like the Sistine Chapel, with images of a religion he does not understand but the artistry and skill shown by the painter was unmistakable. Winged beings flew cross a pale blue sky, one of which was a man and the other a woman. Walking further down the isle, Helios took in the little details in the building, marveling at the man-made grace of the chapel.

"This chapel is incredible…but why build such a monumental structure atop a small mountain?" he asked Ophelia who followed behind him.

"There are a few reasons actually. We believe that the Sky helped to created the world as we know it. By building a place as close to it as possible it is a display of our piety. It was built for holding service on important occasions such as the celebration of the summer solstice and new years only so it is not used very often. The second reason is that the fog of the coast will often block out the sunlight and without the sunlight, there wouldn't be this beautiful effect with the stained glass windows," she explained.

"I see…"Helios nodded, walking towards one of the smaller windows and looked out the clear diamond glass in the middle. From this small point he could see the city below him and the palace to his right. Then he noticed that the palace walls to that side was heavily covered with ivy, even the windows were shrouded, a complete contrast to the well-kept areas he had seen in other parts of the palace.

"The other reason why this chapel was built here was because…because…"

Ophelia's voice began to fade but Helios hardly noticed when he asked her "That's odd, why is that side of the palace unattended to? It looks rather run down and abandoned."

After a long moment and not hearing a reply, Helios turned around and saw Ophelia looking down at the floor, her eyes hidden by her bangs. "Ophelia, what's wrong?" She didn't answer him so he walked away from the window back towards her. "Ophelia…?" He slowly approached her, wanting to ask her what was bothering her all of a sudden.

Ophelia quickly looked away and turned back to face Helios with a feigned smile "Oh-it-it's nothing…I'm sorry, you must be hungry by now." She said and began to walk out of the chapel "I will lead you back to your room to rest and ask the servants to bring you supper."

Helios stared at her back as she walked away, confused by her behavior. Then the muffled sound of her heels clicking against the carpeted isle stopped and Helios saw Ophelia had stopped walking and was standing dead still with her back still turned to him.

"Please stay Helios-sama…"

She whispered almost inaudibly but the concave space of the chapel amplified her voice just enough for Helios to hear. Helios heard a heavy breath taken in and released slowly before she continued faintly "This country can't go on without you…we can't go on without you. Please don't leave us again…Please…" Ophelia turned her face back a fraction and for a moment Helios caught two pleading blue eyes gazing at him, set against an exquisite melancholy expression. Shyness finally overcame her and Ophelia quickly took her leave, her hands folded in front.

The haunting expression stayed with Helios for the rest of the evening. After having dinner, he once again came to stand in front of one of the windows in his room. The sun had set and the sky was now ink blue, dotted with stars and two moons, one white and one azure, cradled in the arms of the gentle night. Down below on the coast the city of Elsinore was also decorated with gleaming spots of light. This was not nearly as intense as the lights he had seen in Tokyo but was gentler and milder than the nearly blinding light of that faraway country called Japan. In Japan the lights are there to entice and compete for the attention of people. Here the lights bring the gift of illumination to shops and homes, and avenues lined with street lamps to guide people as they travel.

Tilting his head a bit more so that his forehead touched the window, Helios watched the night scene silently as his left hand rested on the sill. There was too much to think about and Helios had no idea where to start. This was like a dream, he suddenly realized, like he had walked through the Looking Glass and was wondering in a fantasy world.

A soft knock on the door cleared away some of the dreamy air as Helios lifted his head away from the window. There was only three light taps and no more knocks came. Helios wanted to ignore the knock but then decided what were the odds of someone tapping on the wrong door in this place? He moved away from the night scene and walked across the room to open the door.

At first he saw no one at the door, only a dim glow from the chandeliers in the hallway. Then the back of a figure standing at the end of the hallway caught Helios' attention. The person was wearing a green coat and had his right palm was covered over the top of a walking stick.

"Polonius?" Helios waited but there was no one else in the hallway. _What's he doing here? Was he the one who knocked? _Before Helios could ask, the older man began to walk away. "Wait…!" But Polonius did not stop and didn't seem to have heard Helios at all as he continued to walk further away. Curious and perplexed, Helios decided to go after the former government official and slipped past the doors of his room.

Wordlessly, Helios walked down one hallway after another after Polonius. Polonius for his part, walked without so much as turning to look behind him and Helios felt a bit unnerved by this behavior. Their long shadows glided across the floor and around corners until finally, Polonius turned down one last hallway and entered behind a set of gilded doors. Helios' eyes widened when he recognized the room Polonius had just entered: it was the chapel Ophelia had shown him earlier.

Helios slowly approached the doors and glimpsed in cautiously. Only the light from the two moons shed into this place of worship and Helios felt a tingle in the back of his mind as he looked up to see blocks of dark or light colored glass, their radiant colors vanished without the sun's light. Turning his attention back to Polonius, Helios watched from the edge of the door as the man held up his stick and reached out with it to tap the tablet in the arms of a statue near the right of the chapel. A soft moan echoed in the building and Helios was amazed to see a piece of the chapel wall retracting. Polonius then lowered his arm and walked into the pitch darkness behind the trap door with perfect confidence.

"What in the world…?"

Helios narrowed his eyes. This was too bizarre; it was almost as if Polonius had intentionally led him here to this place and was now wordlessly instructing him to come find him. Not knowing why exacting the complaisant ex-minister had led him here or what lies behind that mysterious stone door, Helios thought to himself it would be best to have a look but remain discreet and ready in case he might regret this later on.

Cautiously, Helios approached the hidden door and walked in. He placed his hand against the wall to guide himself as he walked step by step into the tunnel. As he went he felt around corners and discovered that about half ways through the rough stone walls suddenly became smooth. Finally he saw a the dim flicker of a small torch at a distance and as he got closer to it, Helios could make out the walls of the tunnel. Surprisingly enough, the walls were not paved with stone but had an even surface of cream color to it, as if someone had carefully painted it. The wooden doors at the end of the tunnel stood behind the torch, which burned as it rests in a rack on the wall. There was no sign of Polonius and the obvious answer seemed to be that the man must have passed through the second set of doors. Helios paused as he looked at the wooden doors suspiciously. He had no idea what Polonius planned to do, and the strange and mysterious behavior the man displayed troubled Helios even further.

How can he trust the man, to know that this wasn't some trap set up by Polonius, since for all he knew, these people might be after the Golden Crystal? Thinking this, Helios involuntarily felt a shudder run down his spine. If that was the case then why bother with the pretense? The people here could have done what they pleased with him while he had been unconscious. It seemed like a waste of energy and time to set him up after he had woken up. This thought encouraged and emboldened him. Helios squared his shoulder and reached out to push against the cold doors. Creaking loudly, the gates opened and Helios picked up the torch that had been left on the wall to light the way as he entered the unknown.

The yellow glow of the torch threw long shadows against a dark and disused hallway. Heavy black soot on the walls and debris scattered across the floor, Helios thought this building must have been on the verge of collapse at one point. There was a dreadful stillness in the air here that chilled him as he examined the hallway. Dull, shattered chandeliers hung on the ceiling; no longer able to display the glory they once exhibited. Helios walked to the left of the hall and found the entry way into a large room. The doors were gone but splinters of crumbling burnt wood could still be found on the ground. Looking into the room, the once transparent windows had been covered with the vines of ivies, allowing only stray cracks of moonlight to seep through. Lifting the torch higher so he could see, Helios saw a room that had been utterly burned to ashes. The remains of furniture were present as small blocks of charred wood and melted metal. Shattered pieces of glass revealed that some of the windows had exploded during the fire and left their remains here on the floor.

Helios' face changed from apprehension to light horror. What had happened here? Was this the result of a fire? Why would there be a burnt and half-destroyed part of the palace be preserved and hidden behind a secret passage?

Looking down he saw the remains of a medium sized book, its pages blacked by the flame that had licked around it, having survived the infernal only to lay abandoned here on the floor. With his free hand, Helios kneeled down to pick up the book and gently blew the dust and ashes off the cover. The title was gone so he opened the book to a random page, trying to decipher its content and skimmed through it against the torchlight. The black letters that had once covered the pages were faded by water damage, probably from when the fire had been put out. However printed pictures of intricate details could still be made out on the opposite page and Helios saw two people, standing side by side in a large open field with wings on their back. It suddenly struck him that these were the same people depicted on the ceiling in the chapel and the book could have been a holy book of some sort.

While he had been engrossed in his find another dot of light began to approach from the far end of the abandoned hallway. Helios noticed the other flickering torchlight out of the corner of his eyes, turned, and saw Polonius watching him passively, standing a few feet away from the doorway. Without a word, Polonius turned away again, his cane producing a hollow click, click as it gently struck the ground.

Putting the book gently down where he had found it, Helios watched Polonius for a few demurring moments before following him. "Why have you led me here?" Helios asked gravely, his eyebrows drawn together as he finally asked the question that's been besieging him all this while.

Polonius did not answer; instead he went into a very large room that still managed to retain its doors despite the fierce fire that must have had rapt against it. Helios followed him in, still expecting him to answer when he froze. The windows in this room had been shattered like the others but it was not covered with vines and the light of the moons poured in like a muted sun. The sharp edges of the broken glass glistened in the cold night air; their edges sparkled at the tips. In the middle of this long spacious room was a large fireplace, set perpendicular to the door. Above the mantle of the fireplace was a painting, nearly the dimensions of the fireplace itself, sitting idly in this strange place.

The smoke and fire had damaged the fine oil painting, causing the picture to be missing a large portion of its lower left corner, the edges of which was charred to a thin jagged rim. The people in the painting however, could still be distinguished and their faces and features were still clearly outlined despite the damage from smoke. A tall man with lightly curled dark cobalt hair wearing an embellished formal white suit was standing proudly beside a seated woman. His deep, wine colored eyes stared stately at the space in front of him, almost as if he was anticipating an important meeting with an ambassador. But the gentle smile on his lips offset those serious eyes and made him seem like a kind and noble man. The woman sitting in the chair beside him was smiling too; her warm gray colored hair and lime colored eyes proved to be both charming and lovely in a simple, earthly manner. Wearing a gown of Parma violet, decorated with small gems, gold trimmings, and silk borders, she wore two magnificent blue roses in her elaborately dressed hair. Her head was slightly cocked downward and the reason for her adoring posture became apparent as one beheld the child sitting on her lap. The boy was no older than three or four years of age and had a small childish grin on his babyish face as he held onto the woman's arm. His white feathery hair was slightly curled and upon his forehead was a single red tear shaped jewel, just like the older man in the painting.

Polonius watched Helios' reaction wordlessly. Helios' face had an expression of utter astonishment. His eyes were opened wide and the golden orbs of his iris were locked on the little boy depicted in the damaged painting.

After a while, the spell over Helios' body faded and he looked down and turned sharply to look at Polonius. "Is that…me?" he said in a whisper, feeling his throat tightening as he glanced back at the picture of the family.

Polonius sighed and nodded. "That painting was made when you were four years old and was the only picture of them that survived the fire." He took out a candle from his pocket and lit it with the torch then snuffed out the brand. Respectfully he approached the fireplace mantle and said a silent prayer before dripping some of the melted wax onto the mantle and affixed the candle there. In the candlelight the painting and its characters attained a ghostly, almost haunting presence. Polonius kept his eyes on the picture, folding his hands over the top of his walking stick.

"This use to be the personal quarters of your parents, before it was almost completely destroyed in the Great Fire." He said slowly "This room was the drawing room your mother, the queen, use to sit in as she read you stories and played with you."

Helios let out a shuddered breath, trying to keep his wits about him as emotions were hurdling in his mind that made him head swim.

Turning around, Polonius looked at Helios soberly "A fire broke out somewhere in this part of the palace ten years ago, about two weeks after you disappeared. The inferno spread quickly and because it occurred at night almost everybody was asleep, very few people who were trapped here at the time survived…including your parents." He adjusted his grip on the stick and shifted his eyes away from Helios and to the blown out windows "Nearly this whole side of the palace had been burned down, along with the original Compass Chapel that was nearby. Immediately afterwards those in charge wanted to build a new chapel in the location of the smoldered palace, on the words that it was to be built in the memories of the king and queen who had perished here."

Polonius walked closer to Helios and looked at the young man. "I was able to convince them to leave a portion of the original palace intact, to preserve some part of this place since I was a personal friend of your parents and had quite a bit of influence at the time. The workmen built the new chapel exactly adjacent to the quarters of the former king and I was left in charge of its up keep. However in exchange I was not to tell anyone about this place since technically nothing was suppose to have survived."

Helios felt a lump forming in his throat as he listened, pushing against the already near suffocating collar. Unconsciously he gripped his hands into tight fits and swallowed. "But why was there a fire in the first place? What _happened_?" he said in a tightly controlled whisper.

"…No one knows the exact details about the fire. It might have been an accident but most believed it wasn't, but no suspect was ever pinpointed" Helios felt a cold shudder go through his fingers and his brain; he looked away trembling with a haunted look in his amber eyes "This is not the only mystery." Polonius continued persistently "In fact there are many mysteries that surrounds your family, Helios-sama" Polonius said, addressing Helios for the first time since their meeting earlier. "Your disappearance itself is considered a great mystery. Some say you had been carried off in the middle of the night by a woman, some even suggested you had been kidnapped and was being held ransoms or even dead!" Polonius shook his head and sighed "there's much more than just that, but that's not why I have led you here today."

"What…?" Helios looked suspiciously at the statesman who once again walked over to the portrait and turned his face to stare at Helios in such a manner that the young man felt like he was being observed under a microscope.

"I came here today because I wanted to show you this. This is a part of your past and it doesn't matter if you decide to stay or not, I think this is something you should know about." Polonius paused "There is also something I want to ask you, and that is have you ever wondered who you were and where you came from?" When Helios didn't answer, Polonius taped his walking stick once on the ground. "When Laertes and the others found you, you did not remember a thing about you past here. You didn't even recognize them, the three people you were closest to outside your family." Helios lowered his head as Polonius continued "Do you not want to know, to remember, what your family was like?" Helios remained silent. Polonius sighed heavily and cast Helios a pensive look "…Have you ever felt a hole inside your heart, an eerie emptiness that you can't fill in?"

Helios blinked and met Polonius' eyes. "The answers lie in the ruins of this room, in this country, in the minds of the people who watched you grow up. Helios-sama there is no substitute for a man's past, there is no replacement. If he cedes it to Time then he will loose it forever. And what you will lose is more than just memories; you will have given up the chance to know the truth behind your family's death, the truth behind their possible murder. That hole in your heart, whether you know it is there or not, will continue to be hollow forever after."

The room fell silent as Polonius' voice dropped and the candle light flickered as a small gust came in through the broken windows. Slowly, Helios held up one of his hands and looked at them mutely in the candlelight. He was right, the truth was there was so much he did not know about himself. Before Polonius' talk with him, he had never thought about his own origins, had assumed he was born and raised by Elysian itself. But now this matter weighted down his heart more and more as he thought about it. Just now as he tried to remember his furthest memories, his mind failed him. There was nothing there, nothing that to be recalled, like everything had been covered with a shroud. Yet here was proof of a life he had forgotten and lost to the ashes of time and the tongue of a fire. Was Polonius correct? Was that the emptiness he had felt earlier, the unspoken yearning for a past known to someone else other than the all seeing Time?

Yes it was, he answered himself, and if he didn't make a decision right now, there will be no more answers.

Helios closed his eyes and lowered his hand. By the time he opened them again, a light unlike anyone has every seen before was in his eyes. Aided by the light of the candle in the dark burnt out room, Helios said softly but firmly "I want to know about my past and that is why…that is why I will stay."

At this, a small smile broke over Polonius' face. He nodded and placed his hand on Helios' shoulder. "In that case, I feel honored to be by your side Your Majesty and I'm sure your family will be glad as well."

Helios nodded solemnly then looked back at the portrait, the portrait in the room of broken windows. One day, one day soon, Helios hoped he would be able to discover the cause behind the fire that blew out these once flawless windows and singed the one remaining physical description of his family. Strange that something which has never touched his mind before has now been pushed to the very front of Helios' conscious. Once he was a person who did not know and did not think about his past, was content with watching dreams float by day after day. But now a new duty has been crowned upon him and he accepted this duty willingly but with reluctance. Perhaps now Fate has deemed it fit for him find the missing pieces of Time that once belonged to him, and accepting his birthright was a part of their deal.

Helios closed his eyes to all this. By the time he opened them again, he was no longer a solitary priest guarding the realm of dreams, but a young sovereign waiting to ascent his throne.

A/N Hehe, I know this act is a bit depressing but I like it (smiles). Oh, I want to give the readers little more detail about Helios' country. Since I think the numbers that Polonius gave probably didn't mean very much, a realistic approximation might be helpful. Realistically, Rhodes would be about the size of Turkey and a population close to that of Thailand; hope that helps. I will also be posting up character sketches of the people from this fanfic some times during the winter (cross fingers).

I'll see you next act and don't forget to leave a review!

P.S. I've changed the name of the Compass Cathedral to Compass Chapel after I remembered something from my Art History class. No big significance in the change, just a little technicality.


	3. The Words between Us

**Act 2 "The Words between Us "**

Helios looked at the city below him. Since his decision to stay here in Rhodes a day before, the current leaders in the government have seen it fitting to officially announce his return to the general public. Jubilation, in Elsinore and all parts of the country has resulted in preparations for festivals to celebrate the occasion. Even from this distance, all the way at the top of a small mountain, Helios could make out faint lines that were bright banners going up and people rushing through the streets.

Standing by the edge of a stone balcony, Helios turned his attention from the city back to the palace as the a group of guards, all of them members of the First Imperial Battalion, march in a single filled formation of three men as they patrolled the grounds. As the line of guards passed, Helios' mind drifted. Soon his thoughts returned to the reason he was waiting here in the first place.

Laertes had asked to see him earlier in the day and Helios had agreed to a meeting. This comes after his world had been changed when Polonius told him about the death of his family, a family he has no memory of. When he walked into that abandoned wing of the palace, he could feel the past nipping at his sleeves. It was a sensation so strange and compelling that it induced the Guardian of Elysian to briefly (Helios hoped) abandon his post. But the problem now was that Helios felt guilty for staying, and even considered leaving Somnus and going back to Earth several times. However he had already promised Polonius he would stay and now that everyone in this war-depleted country was relying on him to finally set things straight it only made it even harder to disentangle himself from this foreign place. Helios couldn't just abandon those in need; they were after all his responsibility.

His eyes drifting, Helios noticed two maids chattering between themselves. However every once in a while they'd dart their eyes up at the balcony and it didn't take Helios long to realize they were sneaking glances at him. Although he was sure they were trying to keep their conversation private, one of the maids-who was much older than the other and probably a little hard of hearing-spoke loud enough for Helios to catch parts of her discourse.

"…Came back…days ago…none of us…Gods know what…all this time!"

The other maid nodded, then glanced at Helios again. Seeing her eyes approaching, Helios turned his face away and acted as though he hadn't noticed them. The younger maid went back to her conversation and must have said something because the old woman laughed; though to Helios' ears it sounded more like a cackle.

"No, no….it's nothin' like that! But…you said is true…say his majesty is no longer one of us, like…or something and won't…about what's he been up to…so long. Some folks aren't even sure…to trust him to be king…"

At this point Helios turned away from the balcony's edge and glanced back uncomfortably as he walked to the center of the terrace. He felt guilty for spying on other people's conversation but also burned from the woman's words. These were people who couldn't be more different from himself. They may talk freely amongst themselves and feel secure in this land in which they were born but he can't. Though he was supposedly born in this country as well, Helios felt no connections to Rhodes or this planet. He was yanked from one world to another then back to here again, and inside he still felt out of place here despite his acknowledgement that this was his fatherland. Not only that, he can't just announce to the whole of this country all the information about his life in Elysian. If people here found out about his charge then he would have disavowed his oath of keeping the world unenlightened, but if he kept his background a secret people would reservations against him.

"Your Majesty," a valet's voice interrupted Helios' myriad thoughts. "The Minister of Interior and the Captain of the First Imperial Battalion have arrived for their appointment." The manservant said without looking up. This made Helios feel uneasy again.

A few moments later, Laertes and Horatio walked onto the balcony and each of them bowed. Helios looked at these two young men, both of whom were about the same physical age he was. At a glance one could tell the difference in personality between the two. Horatio had a mild expression on his face and his violet eyes were always twinkling, like a person who never truly grew up. His broad shoulders and athletically built body bespoke of his position as the head of the elite First Imperial Battalion and would seem slightly intimidating had his personality been something other than pleasant. Laertes on the other hand, was serious and business. Behind his pair of round glasses, intelligent and shrewd eyes observed with cool and evaluative aim at everything he sees. Helios has yet to see him smile since he arrived here nearly half a week ago.

"Good morning, Sire," Laertes said formally. Helios cringed at the title but returned the greeting. "Since your decision to accept the throne, I have created a list of things that need to be attended to. All of the items are things which require attention immediately or else sometimes soon in the future." He pulled out a parchment of paper that was neatly folded and handed it to Helios.

When Helios opened the sheet, the parchment unfolded and dropped all the way down to his knees. Not only did the length of the list surprise Helios, but the urgent business written in unbelievably neat handwriting did as well.

"Preparation for Royal Ball, studying, training-". At this point Helios raised a wary eyebrow at the creator of the list. "What does that mean?" he asked suspiciously

Horatio however, was the one who answered "It means that you will be training with me. A king is a man who epitomizes the role of the scholar, the warrior, and the leader. Laertes will be working with you on the scholar and leader part, I will help you with the warrior part." When he saw the look on Helios' face, Horatio forced back a laugh "that means I am going to teach you how to fight."

Helios felt his heart sink. Fighting, despite its necessity at times, was never a focus in his life. It was something the senshis did not something he did. And somehow, Helios had a bad feeling about this…

Laertes cleared his throat and shifted his arm over the folder. "In preparation for the Ball, preparations will began today. I have already scheduled a meeting with the royal tailor and will have a list of the guest in attendance by tomorrow, which will contain the names of some of the most influential names in Rhodes and beyond. There are a few other things I will need to discuss with you this afternoon, I shall send word around noon as to the precise time and place, my secretary will escort you there." Laertes snapped his folder shut, making Helios jump inside.

"That is all I have for now, if there is nothing else Your Majesty needs I shall now take my leave." Helios nodded his permission and with that, Laertes bowed once again and left the balcony.

Helios watched as Laertes walked through the door leading back into the room and disappeared around a corner. "Is he always like that?" Helios said as Laertes' figure disappeared behind the door to the balcony.

Horatio crossed his arms and smiled "Yeah, Laertes is a bit of a stiff and spends too much time stuck in his office but he's not as bad as he looks…when he's not on my case that is." He rolled his eyes "Which he has _not_ been for the last 19 years."

Hearing this Helios couldn't help but giggle. But then something in Horatio's words reminded Helios of something. Helios stared at the world below him and saw the distant object from him, none of which were familiar to him like they were to the person standing beside him.

"19 years…10 years…" Helios let out a long sigh

A tap on the shoulder made Helios turn his head around. Horatio looked at him; an inquisitive look replaced his cheerful grin. "What are you thinking about?"

Helios glanced at Horatio then looked back down. He wasn't one to usually confind his thoughts in others but something told him he could talk to Horatio about the matter on his mind.

"…These people and this place…it's so foreign to me, I can't relate to anyone. I feel frustrated in not knowing, not remembering anything. After what Polonius told me I want to know everything but so far I've learned _nothing_." Helios admitted solemnly.

Horatio laughed lightly and Helios looked at him curiously. Horatio looked out at the same horizon as the white haired boy and shook his head. "You know, I was really surprised and disappointed when you said you didn't remember us, and it was even worse when you said you wanted to leave and go back to Earth. But now that you are back and here to stay, I'm even more surprised because you are not the same person as I remembered you to be anymore. One fact I will tell you right now is that you were never _this _angst filled when you were young." Horatio teased and managed to win a weak smile from Helios.

The red haired soldier then turned around, leaning against the stone railing of the balcony and continued "I'm not one to preach, especially not to someone of your standing but I'll say this as a friend." Helios turned his eyes to Horatio as the Captain looked at his purposefully. "You should take your time piecing together your past. It's impossible to bring it together all in one day; you'll probably give yourself a headache. But if you are so eager to find out more, I can help to try and jog your memory a little."

At this Helios looked up, interested "How?"

Horatio smiled mysteriously and motioned with a cock of his head "Come with me, I'm going to show you something."

Curious as to what Horatio had in mind, Helios followed him and left the balcony. They passed through the palace hallways, going down lavish stairways before exiting the main building and into one of the large gardens. Birds chirped and the wind whistled lightly, the sure sign that spring was here as it was in Elysian. Remembering Elysian brought back nostalgic memories. But now the land seemed distant somehow, like Helios had discovered it was hiding something from him. It was an indignant feeling, almost as if a family member had lied to him but Elysian was not a person and Helios have yet to learn enough to place the blame of tweaking with his memories on anyone just yet.

"Here we are" Horatio announced, shaking Helios from his thoughts. Looking around and registering his surroundings for the first time in minutes, Helios realized he was standing at the head of a short avenue connecting an obscure part of the garden to its main path. The short little stone paved trail was about 10 yards long and lined with 4 to 5 tall threes on each side. A thick bush covered the lower part of the tree's trunks, with the bush towering to the height of a man.

"Follow me," Horatio instructed. Helios nodded but was shocked when the tall Captain knelt down and began pushing through the bush. Surprisingly enough, he went in fairly easily despite the uniform and his built. When Helios didn't follow he poked his head back out "Don't worry, this use to be our secret hiding spot when we were kids, no one but the four of us knows about it."

Helios looked apprehensively at the bush but decided to see what Horatio had to show him anyway. Carefully he eased himself through the wall of leaves, which was actually easily passable, for they were in fact broad and soft and only giving a false impression of solidity and impassability. With a hand from Horatio, Helios looked up from where he squatted and saw a towering canopy above him. Suddenly the voices of the birds were amplified and everything seemed even more tranquil than before. The little encircled retreat was plain, with just a soft cushion of grass before the trees the girth of which was so wide that a person can't touch his hands if he were to put his arm around it. But there was a definite sense of peacefulness to this place, like it was a separate plane from the rest of the world.

Horatio patted his dress uniform of dust and leaves, giving his surroundings a sentimental look. "We found this place inadvertently one day. Since Polonius was a friend of your parents, Ophelia and Laertes would often come along with him to the palace by the request of the queen, your mother. Thea-sama loved children and she would never yell at us, not even to a brat like me." Horatio grinned, thinking back to his own childhood.

"Thea…that was my mother's name?" Helios asked slowly

Horatio nodded "Your father's name was Hyperion, and even he dotted on us, though he didn't tend to show it as openly as Thea-sama. If it weren't for his many pardons I'd probably be locked up somewhere for all the trouble I've caused." He chuckled to himself before walking a little down the strip of bush-enclosed hide out. "Once when Ophelia was collecting flowers, she saw a rabbit chewing on the grass. We were all extremely curious and I managed to distract the nursemaid so we could follow it and ended up here. I think you were probably only five years old at the time and I had just been selected as your personal guard in training and brought to live in the palace. That's probably why I got in trouble so much, never had a liking for all the rules and manners like Laertes went on to loving." Horatio recounted, lost in his own nostalgia. "We found the rabbit's nest here and kind of adopted as our pet, we even gave it a name." At this point Horatio flashed a shrewd smile "We named it after you." He said looking at Helios.

"You named a rabbit after me?" Helios looked indignantly at the Captain, whom seeing his reaction, burst out laughing, not that this made Helios feel any better.

After wiping the edge of his eyes and forcing back any more laughter that might want to break out, Horatio grinned, "Actually I didn't name it, it was Ophelia. Since she found it we decided to let her name it. She said the rabbit resembled you."

Somewhere in Helios' head he was comparing himself against a rabbit but things never quite add up and the expression on his face only made Horatio want to laugh again.

After Horatio finally sobered, he sighed and looked around the bushes and trees "We kept that rabbit a secret amongst us, knowing if the groundskeeper found out he'll probably get rid of the poor thing. After you were a little bit older we drew straws to see which of us gets to check on the rabbit that day. Those were the days …until you disappeared…" Horatio lowered his face, gloom passed over his eyes like two bright candles have been dimmed by a sudden strong gust.

From that brief moment, Helios felt an uncomfortable pinch in his heart. Though the Captain did not elaborate, he had a feeling that the events that occurred in the last ten years must have left its mark on Horatio's mind. Having seen some of the worst scenes of destruction during the battle with the Dead Moon Circus, Helios felt sympathetic towards Horatio. Being trust into the arms of chaos at a young age must have deeply affected Horatio. It was apparent just now from his eyes that the ten year long civil war had not been kind to the boy that once shepherded his charge and friends in this hidden playground.

Luckily however, Horatio was a naturally lighthearted person, and he quickly shook off his momentary gloominess and beamed once again at Helios "Does this help?" he asked hopefully.

Willing himself out of his contemplation, Helios focused his mind back to the reason why Horatio had brought him in the first place. But no matter how hard he tried to concentrate, nothing of this place or what had happened played itself out except as a part of a false image created by his imagination. Finally Helios gave up, and said apologetically "I-I'm sorry but no…"

Horatio walked back to Helios and patted him on the shoulder "Don't worry about it, the reason I brought you here was to _try_ and see if it might help you. Even though it didn't it doesn't mean it won't happen. As I've said, you should take this slowly, don't force yourself to remember. If it's still there then you will remember it eventually." Horatio walked pass Helios and parted the bush for him when he looked up and beamed "And if you can't remember the past, you'll have new memories to keep with you."

Hearing this, Helios smiled and felt a bit relieved. He nodded as he reentered the world from the sanctuary of the bush. That was when the conversation he had over heard earlier bumped into his mind again.

"Horatio…may I ask you one more thing?" Helios stuttered

Horatio stopped walking and looked behind him. Helios paused for a moment before he finally asked, "Do you think…that is to say…do you think I've made the right decision in staying here?"

Unexpectedly, Horatio shrugged. "That's not a question I can answer, after all, I'm not Pythia, the prophetic priestess. Undoubtedly your presence here right now is the only thing that's keeping the two factions from reinitiating the war, so I would say it's a good thing for the country that you decided to stay. But for you personally…I guess the only answer I can give you is that you'll find out over time." He gave the disappointed Helios an encouraging wink. "Don't worry about it. Good or bad I'll be here for you" so saying he gave Helios a hard slap on the back, almost knocking him over.

Defeated by Horatio's blithe behavior, Helios sighed and smiled back, feeling the weight on his shoulder lightened a little.

"Thank you, Horatio…"

* * *

In the afternoon, just as Laertes had said, someone came and politely invited the king to join his minister in the Grand Study room. Helios, following the man leading the way, walked into a majestic chamber with tall shelves full of aged books and aesthetic decorations. The afternoon sun was washing into the olive green colored room, adding a touch of warmth to the comfortable atmosphere.

Laertes stood in the middle of the room behind a large table. On the table, Helios immediately noticed, were piles of books that had been carefully organized and placed one atop the other. Helios dismissed the attendant and walked to the other side of the desk.

"What's all this for?" he asked and picked up a random book from the top of one pile and opened it to skim through.

Laertes, with the folder still in his arm, placed a hand on the books and said, "As I have mentioned earlier, this one of the things which needs to be attend to before long. Since you remember nothing of this country or this world, it is essential that you relearn everything you've forgotten. I've compiled some of the things you need to have knowledge and mastery of. This includes such fields as politics, mathematics, oration, geography, military strategy, agriculture, water-management-"

Helios looked up at Laertes from the book he had been going through and closed it. "Actually, I've already studied this one here before."

A stunned silence followed and Laertes only realized he was staring after five full seconds while Helios gave him a weak smile. "This is about the basic principles of economics and I've read something similar while I was on Earth." He added since Laertes was evidently confused.

"I see…" the young officer held his chin for a moment while Helios looked through the titles of the other books. Laertes watched him mindfully until finally, Helios looked back up and a satisfied smile appeared.

"I've read about half of the subjects here already. The only ones I'm lost on are history, geography, and the specifics of government."

At this Laertes narrowed his eyes and frowned. Looking at his sovereign, Laertes couldn't help but ask what's on his mind. "You learned all of this on Earth…just what have you been doing there for the last ten years?" as soon as the question left his mouth he regretted it and apologized.

"I'm sorry, I am in no position to ask such things…"

"No, it's fine…" Helios quickly added. He put the book back down on its pile and lowered his gaze. "I don't remember anyone here and hardly anyone here knows anything about me except you, Horatio, Ophelia and Polonius. And I know everyone is wondering about my circumstances these past years…"

Helios fought within himself to finish the sentence. As priest and guardian he was suppose to keep Elysian a secret, not spread it to the world. But there was no impending threat that's forcing him to swallow his secret right now. It should be all right if he just let on a little about himself. Then, maybe he would be more accepted by everyone and no longer be a mystery and a stranger in his own homeland.

"…That's why I will tell you about them, if you wish to hear it…"

Laertes nodded slowly. Helios took a seat in one of the chairs in the room, thinking about what he was about to say.

"…I don't precisely remember when I went to Earth, because I've always assumed it was my birthplace and my home. But now that I think about it, I realized I don't remember that much."

"You said something about it being your 'post' when we first found you. Do you know why you were there?" Laertes interrupted gently but evenly.

Helios was not prepared by Laertes' question and demurred. He had to be careful not to disclose the fact that he was guarding the Golden Crystal, or else all hell really might break loose if someone with unpleasant intent finds out he had it with him. He had to tell himself to keep details to a minimum but Laertes now turned out to be a lot sharper than Helios had first perceived. He was beginning to doubt his decision of talking to Laertes about himself and wanted to avoid the question but the intensity from Laertes' gaze was pressuring him to reply.

"I'm there to protect Elysian…it was a very important place, the place where dreams dwell." Helios said broadly, hoping Laertes wouldn't ask for any more details but thankfully Laertes only kept his passive expression and said nothing. This gave Helios a degree of comfort and he decided to turn the topic of Elysian to what had happened to him instead since that information was much less confidential and sensitive.

"One day a malicious force managed to invade and I was forced to flee. I was able to receive help from the senshis of Earth and they aided me in saving Elysian. Had they not been there I would not be here today." Helios said, censuring out the more intriguing details.

After a few moments and Helios did not go on, hoping Laertes would let him off the hook. There was a slight tension in the room between the vessel and his lord. One knew the other was hiding something and the other knew he was trying to get information out of him. With this understanding the uneasy standstill continued until Laertes made his move. He shifted his weight and drew a long breath. The sun's glare was reflected on his glasses and Helios noticed he now seemed to be thinking about the information he had told him. When he spoke again, Helios was afraid he was going to ask him another question but instead Laertes said, "It was a good thing that we found you. The Earth was unsafe for you after all, just as I believed."

Thinking that Laertes was implying that the Earth was dangerous, he interjected. "No, you don't understand; Earth is not like that! That only happened once and it was centuries ago-"

"Centuries?" a pair of pale blue eyes gazed at Helios questioningly with interest "But you've been gone for only 10 years…"

"I'm not sure but I think the flow of time between here and Earth is different. I've been in Elysian for 4000 years at least but here it's only been 10 but I have aged very slowly there," Helios said honestly, feeling more at lease discussing an issue that will not put his pride as a Guardian at risk.

"Different flow of time…that would explain something…" Laertes said softly to himself and for the first time, eased his face into a soft smile. Helios looked puzzled but the smile was gone from his face in an instant. "Pray continue," he said and Helios groaned mentally because it was back to the old conversation of not letting out too much information.

Helios nodded wearily and went on to talk a little bit more about the mundane things he did during the millennia. Finally, there was nothing more he could tell Laertes without seriously giving away the most illusive secrets he held in his mind and the young Minister of the Interior seemed satisfied with their discussion as well.

"If you don't mind, I think it would be a good to release some of this information to the public." At this suggestion Helios looked like someone had just threatened his life. Seeing this, Laertes restated his meaning. "That is to say, you were kidnapped by outside foreigners with nefarious wishes but their plot failed half ways and somehow they lost track of you but you became lost. We were able to find you, living in a place far from Rhodes and bring you back. This explanation should sooth the public's curiosity."

Helios however, felt otherwise. "But do you not think that sounds a bit too…fantastical…to be taken realistically?"

"That is the most plausible explanation, that or else telling them about your time on Earth." the blonde replied smoothly.

With no good argument against that, Helios consented, but it still left a bad taste in his mouth. More however he didn't like the cold and uncontestable attitude with which Laertes offered him his options. With a long sigh, Helios consented.

"Very well, if that's what you think will be best. But please don't put blame on the other nations, I don't want the population to demand retributions for an act that never occurred."

Laertes considered this "It would sound more probable to place the blame on a group of simple rouge mercenaries who were out for ransom. Whatever the case, leave the matter to me." He straightened his folder and said to Helios "Since you only require the books in the fields you have mentioned, I will have someone sort through the library again and have them delivered to you tonight. I will tell the valet to escort you back on my way out." With that he began to walk away but Helios halted him.

"Laertes…I-I know this is the best way but I don't think it's right to lie to everyone…" Helios said solemnly, his face showing clear signs of discomfort. "It doesn't feel right." He concluded.

Laertes turned back to face his lord, his dark blue uniform matching his equally cool eyes "Sometimes lies are necessary. Telling the truth may make people feel less guilty but it won't keep the people happy and promote unity. It's something that we have to do, it's something this country needs."

Hearing no more objections from Helios, Laertes bowed and continued on his way. When the door closed and he was left to himself, Helios realized something. Laertes was right, he admitted. He had lied to Chibi Usa before and that too was out of necessity. Still, the prospect of intentionally lying to someone made him cringe and Helios could only hope he did not have to do this often. This and Laertes' demeanor also worried Helios. At first he thought Laertes was trustworthy if a little "stiff" as Horatio described him. But the man turned out to be a lot more domineering and distant than Helios expected. Except for that faint smile he caught, he has not seen any other expression on Laertes' face other than annoyance and disapproval or else dead calm. From his words it would seem he wanted the best for his country and he was a true patriot but Helios could not connect himself with Laertes the way he did with Horatio.

A light knock on the study's door announced the arrival of the valet. Helios sighed and left the room of books. Looking back as he left the room, he then realized this was his first decision as a king, and he did not like it one bit.

* * *

As night fell, lamps went up around the palace, illuminating corridors and rooms. Maids and manservant passed in the halls, finishing their chores or else returning to their quarters to rest for the evening. In one of the large offices near the ground floor, Laertes remained at his desk as he had for most of the evening, reviewing reports, signing papers, and other activities dictated by his job as the Minister of the Interior.

The office was sparingly furbished since the available walls were lined with shelves, holding files and books. Laertes sat in the back of the office, his solid oak desk like a fortress, solemn and unyielding like its user. A fountain pen rested with other writing instruments in a gold penholder, which sat beside a small pile of documents.

With his legs crossed, the blonde read a report in the light of the twin lamps sitting on his desk. He had one hand holding the report while the other lied on the arm of the chair. The shadow of his figure flickered slightly every once in a while, moved by the few tiny puffs of wind that have managed to sneak into the room. His white shoulder band of office created its own thin shadows, creating thin strips of pale gray on the otherwise pristine white length of cloth.

"Hey," Horatio unexpectedly poked his through the door of the office. Laertes said nothing for a while as he finished the report while Horatio invited himself into the room. At last Laertes sighed and slapped the report down on his desk.

He gave his old friend an irritated look "For the hundredth time, please remember to knock before you come in."

Horatio held up his hand and pretended to count. "Nah uh, the 258th time. I've been keeping track."

Laertes let out an exasperated sigh and leaned back in his chair, which creaked softly. "So you've been talking to him huh?" Horatio asked, resting his hand on the edge of the desk.

"Yes, I did…" Laertes answered

"And?" Horatio inquired

Laertes perched his lips and touched the tips of his fingers together "I've found out a little about what he's been doing, I'll gave it to you in a written report-"

"Laertes…" Horatio eyed him with a warning look

Laertes gave in and scowled at the lack of proper procedure, "Fine, I'll tell you then." He turned his chair and came face to face with Horatio and recounted to him the things Helios told him earlier in the day.

After the narrative ended, Horatio nodded. "The guy didn't have a easy time while he was gone…I was hoping he wouldn't have to see the kind of things we saw."

"Someone coddled and protected will not make a good king." Laertes stated flatly.

"Yeah but still…he spend more than 4,000 years by himself, that's one hell of a long time to be by yourself. Even with books and stuff I'm surprised he's still sane after all that time!" Horatio contemplated "my God, 4,000 years…"

"I was thinking about that too," Laertes admitted, crossing his arms "When I spoke with him I had this strange sensation in the back of my mind. It was when he told me that the flow of time is different between that world and ours that I realized what it was."

"And that is?"

"He's grown up." Laertes said softly.

Horatio's eyebrows shot up but then his face eased into a smiled. "Hmm…You're right. When I look at him now I can't believe I'm looking at the same seven-year-old that played with us when we were kids. Kind of makes you feel like an old man huh?" Horatio laughed and rubbed his head in embarrassment. "But it's good to talk about the past sometimes, even though he might not remember anything."

Laertes suddenly tensed and pushed himself forward from his chair "You didn't tell him about _that_ did you?"

Horatio shook his head and looked away. "No, it's too soon to tell him about it. Besides, they're only getting to know each other again…"

"Yes…we should give them time..." Laertes sighed in relief and eased himself back into the chair.

Horatio nodded pensively when a soft voice floated into the room. Turning his attention to the song, Horatio smiled knowingly "The Nightingale is singing tonight."

In a room in another part of the palace, Helios looked up from the book he had been reading. The musical voice was drifting through the night air and though he could not make out the words, Helios felt his mind relax at the aria. Walking away from the bed he had been sitting on, Helios opened one round window and focused on the mysterious music. Rather than finding the source of the singing Helios opted to enjoy the melody from where he stood. Helios closed his eyes then opened them to look down at the city at his feet. It was at that time that he heard a few faint stanzas sailing in the wind, calling:

_O fate, the heavens_

_Stay my memories for me_

_Affix them to the soul._

_Gazing and searching,_

_On the wings of eternity,_

_Do you know what you are looking for?_

A/N Well, this is act is mainly for the development of characters and relationships. I have mixed feelings about this act since I didn't want it to sound cliché or cheesy. The little song at the end was written by me and not copied from someone else's work. By the way, I won the Mirrored Dreams' Summer Theme contest! Which is really cool since I've never won anything like this before. And now I have some character sketches from this fanfic posted on Mirrored Dreams. You're welcome to take a look; they will give you a good idea of what my original characters look like. To find Mirrored Dream type in "mirrored dreams" in Google and select "Mirrored Dreams version 5.0 'The Rain'". The sketches are posted under Fandom, then under fanfictions that will have a link to my penname. BTW I've also added two additional pieces of fanarts based on this story, it's also on the same page. 


	4. Nightingales

**Act 3 "Nightingales"**

Church service in the Compass Chapel was an event no lover of beauty would miss. The already gorgeous building with its stained glass windows was dressed with an additional layer of embellishment. Rich blue and gold fabrics hung around the aisles and altarpieces, which had been previously stored away, were brought out and placed in their full glory. The windows have been washed twice and the statues around the nave had been polished as well.

A minister, dressed in robs opulent enough to match the chapel, was giving a sermon. Young acolytes stood behind him, standing perfectly still as they have been instructed to do so. However one of the acolytes, apparently the youngest amongst his fellows, was sneaking curious glances at one of the service-goers. The person he was looking at wore a long coat made of rich burgundy and broad silver boarders, accentuating his light hair. A good sized yellow diamond pin was fastened into the cascading frills at his neck.

Helios however, was trying to pull all of his attention on the sermon. As far as he knew from the books he had read and what he heard so far, according to the Rhodian notion of Heaven there were Supreme Beings in the universe. The planet in its primordial state had only cold oceans and barren lands. Then the sun poured out shooting stars believed to be the seeds of souls. When they entered the atmosphere of the planet, life was born. This was a process that still can be seen to this day whenever a shooting star glows as it passes through the sky. Flesh and form were finally formed when the stars reached the ground, shaped when life is united with earth. However there were no mention of the winged figures painted on the ceiling of the chapel.

But the fascinating theology did not sit steadily in Helios' consciousness. His concentrate kept on slipping and he decided to look at the people around him instead. Sitting beside him now in the front of the aisle was Polonius with his family and Horatio. Both Polonius and Ophelia had a serene expression on their faces and seemed to be paying attention to the service. Laertes' eyes were not on the altar but half closed, as if deep in thought. Horatio's eyes were completely closed and probably asleep. Following the line of people Helios' eyes crossed the walkway were two ladies and three men sat on the pew.

Those five people however, were sitting in sight of the object he had been avoiding all this time and was the reason for his constant distractions. Helios felt a sense of unease in his mind as his eyes glided onto the cold statue beyond the church bench. He remembered how Polonius had tapped the stone block of the statue and the events afterwards turned his world upside down. His mind was a mix of curiosity, wonder, and anxiety. He wanted to look at it, stare at it but at the same time was afraid of what unpleasant feelings it might bring up. Tearing his gaze away from the statue, Helios looked at the other people in the chapel. None of them have any idea about what was hidden just beyond the western side of the building they are in and probably never will.

"And that my children, is what I have to say for today. May the Heavens bless you." The minister said at the end of the service. As soon as he left the apse, the crowd began to disperse. Thankful that he can finally leave, Helios sighed inside and stood up to leave. But when he looked at the crowd, instead of walking out into the hallway immediately, most people kept their eyes on the young king.

Horatio stood up and stretched, yawning as he wiped the corner of his eyes. "Well, that's that," Horatio said to Helios.

Helios looked back at the people who were watching him with obvious interest and noticed they were talking amongst themselves. This made him feel uncomfortable again but they slowly passed out of sight and disappeared as his small entourage began to move out of the chapel and came under the secure escort of the Imperial Battalion. Walking with Polonius, his family, and Horatio, Helios took one look back as they walked.

"Are you all right Your Majesty?" Polonius asked when he saw Helios staring at the dispersing crowd behind him.

"Oh, yes, I'm fine…" Helios answered but Polonius thought so otherwise.

He smiled politely and said "Those good people mean no harm. They were curious that's all."

"Curious?" Helios frowned unhappily. "Of me?"

No one replied as the guards reorganized as they come to a pair of closed doors, behind which was the king's private chambers. The group, minus the escort soldiers, walked into the door and as the door closed, Laertes finally answered, "It's good to let the people know that you are real. To let a chosen few to witness the heir's presence with their own eyes will dispel some of the skepticism and wariness of the guests during the party this evening. The new information regarding you will inevitably spread and very soon everyone will know what we need them to know about you."

"Is that why you asked me to attend the service this morning?" Helios asked, feelings of indigence flaring in his words.

Polonius sighed and smiled apologetically, "I apologize that this upsets you, Sire. But you see, by attending the service today it helps to conceal the fact that you have amnesia. If the public finds out about this, your position as king-to-be will be dramatically weakened. It may even gave some people a excuse to resume the course of war by the pretext that you are unfit to rule." He said coolly and bluntly.

Hearing this, Helios couldn't argue with Polonius. Although he didn't like the tone Laertes used, both of them were only doing what was for his and the country's best interest and he had to make some sacrifices.

But that still doesn't mean he had to like it.

Helios sighed and gave up. Whenever Polonius argued for something it seemed that there was no counter argument one could use against him. Little wonder since he was the previous Minister of the Interior, a witty and persuasive tongue was a prerequisite for such a post.

The musical tone from a grandfather clock announced it was now eight in the morning. Glancing at the timepiece, Polonius proposed, "The service today was rather long and his Majesty has been up since the crack of dawn." He turned to Helios "It will be a few more hours before the Ball. In that time I think you should rest for a bit, Helios-sama."

Stifling a yawn, Horatio nodded his consent. "Fabulous idea! I concur most sincerely."

"You have to be excused first, Captain," Laertes said, not bothering to look in his friend's direction.

Helios smiled. "Very well, you are all excused."

"Thank you Your Majesty." Polonius smiled politely and bowed. "Come Ophelia, you need to begin preparing for this evening." A brief dip of the girl's eyebrows suggested a hint of emotion at this but it left as quickly as a light breeze. Ophelia then followed her parent but not before curtseying to her king. Laertes bowed and the family exited the room.

Thinking about the expression he saw for that short moment, Helios began, "I wonder…"

"What?" Horatio asked, his posture now more at ease without the mother hen like hounding of Laertes.

"Ophelia, she's coming to the Ball tonight, no?" Helios asked

At this, Horatio nodded then grinned suavely, "Yup, why do you ask all of a sudden?"

Helios thought about this for a moment then said, "Well, I don't think she's too happy about going to the ball. She doesn't seem like the kind of person who would go to a Ball, she's so…"

"Reserved?" Horatio offered

"Yes, that, and the fact that I get the feeling that she's not someone who likes to be in a large crowd. She's shy." Helios concluded.

"Well, shy or not, she has to be there tonight, just like you do," Horatio said candidly.

Helios lowered his gaze. "I know…"

Horatio smiled sympathetically at the young man. "Hey, part of being a ruler is sometimes doing things that other people want you to do, or else doing things you don't like. You have to be prepared for that."

"I know…" Helios repeated. He then turned back to Horatio and said more cheerfully, "I think you should get some rest now, Horatio. You have been up for as long as I have and you look like you are about to fall asleep soon."

"Soon? I was going comatose during that service! Why would anyone take sleeping potions when they could listen to that minister talk for two hours!" He grumbled, making Helios laugh. "Anyways, You should get some rest too. Trust me, these 'Balls' are draining. Me, at least I have the prospect of meeting some nice young ladies during the evening. But I'm afraid you won't be able to do the fun stuff. Still, good luck!" He gave Helios a wink before leaving the room.

Helios sighed again. Hopefully Horatio will be mistaken, after all this is his first look at some of the people of Rhodes and Balls are suppose to be fun, it shouldn't be that bad.

* * *

It was bad. 

Helios tried telling himself that it wasn't, but it was _bad_.

The young king soon realized that Horatio was right. It began when he was dressing for the party and had half a dozen tailors and servants running around, tucking in the tiniest folds of the shirt, smoothing out the stiff sleeves of the jacket, and wrapping a waistband tight enough to be a corset around his waist.

Looking at himself in the large floor length mirror, Helios had to admit that a lot of skill went into the clothes he was wearing, however uncomfortable he might feel in it. A white ruffle was tucked into his jacket and pined down with a ruby tiepin in the middle of the fluffy white material. The jacket was cut off just below his rib cage and the white marble colored material had an enclosed frame inset with curling gold vines set against a blue background. A gold clasp on each shoulder fastened a dull gold colored sheet of fabric, cut in a long rectangular shape that went down to his waist, with a stylized design at the bottom. The waistband was a rich shade of light olive and was so long it reached the edge of his crisp white pants. The most intricate part of the outfit however, was the long coattail. Like the frame on the chest, it was bordered in gold with cobalt colored background. The pattern was that of a pair of wings crossing over a compass with curved vine motif.

"Your Majesty?" Helios took his eyes off the mirror and looked at the servant who spoke to him. "The fitting is complete. Is there anything else we may do for you?" he asked respectfully.

"Ah, no thank you." Helios smiled

The servants nodded and left the room. But before Helios could catch his breath, another knock came and Horatio stepped into the room grinning. Polonius, carrying his silver topped short staff, came in behind him. Both of them were dressed in elaborate uniforms and Horatio even wore some polished medals on his chest.

"You ready?" Horatio asked.

"Yes, I think…" Helios admitted.

Polonius smiled "There is nothing to be anxious about. Remember that you are the king. Carry yourself with the dignity inherently bestowed to you." He spread his arms and bowed.

Helios gulped. "I will try…" he said uneasily.

"All right then, let's go meet Laertes. He had something to be taken care of but he should be finished with it by now." Horatio nodded his head towards the door and the three men left the room.

After a rather lengthy walk down the brightly-lit hallway, Helios saw Laertes speaking with a man he had not seen before. When Laertes saw his king approaching he dismissed the man who bowed and left.

"Work again?" Polonius asked, smiling at the blonde.

Laertes gave his father a long look then nodded. "I was finishing some paper work and had instructed Reynaldo to bring them home once I finish."

Polonius nodded approvingly at this reply.

Horatio walked over and slung his arm over Laertes' shoulder. "Come on, Old Man, lighten up. You need to get your mind out of work for once."

Laertes shrugged off Horatio's arm and replied curtly, "The country doesn't stop running because there's a Ball in the palace." He then added at the snickering Captain, "And don't call me Old Man…"

Helios felt a giggle bubbling up and only managed to push it back down when Polonius looked at his pocket watch and nodded formally. "Well, it's time for the Announcement. Shall we?"

Laertes straightened his jacket and even Horatio sobered to a degree that made him look more like a high ranking military leader than a clown. The noise from behind the door they were standing next to grew louder as they approached it and Helios realized that he was one step away from being presented to a nation, to an entire world. His hands started to sweat and he consciously straightened his back as Polonius reached for the door.

The door opened an inch and a ray of light showered on the floor. Polonius looked back and smiled at the young man. "Don't worry. Just remember, hold yourself with dignity."

"And try not to let on anything we don't want them to know." Horatio added mindfully

Helios smiled weakly and looked back at the door that opened slowly as the light and sights of the ballroom was revealed.

The myriad sounds of conversations, music, and footsteps were deafening cacophony when it slammed against one's eardrums, then slowly dissolved into a dazzling kaleidoscope of vibrations. Varies shades and colors of gowns and robes were flashing through the gilded ballroom, like finely cut gemstones in a golden box, creating a multicolored barrage for the eyes. The air was exceptionally warm and a mix of the perfumes worn by proud ladies. Wreaths made of blue roses and small white flowers were hung on the wall space in between each spotless stretched oval shaped window, while diamond-like chandeliers floated gracefully above the heads of attendees, the crystal's facets reflecting the full prism of colors below. Performers such as magicians and acrobats were entertaining the crowd from a beautiful stage at the far end of the ballroom and waiters were walking the floor, offering guests refreshments. The bustling activity, dazzling colors and assorted sounds came to a grinding halt when the trumpets sounded and the head steward announced the presence of the Crown Prince and Heir Apparent.

Helios took in a deep breath when he saw the massive ballroom filled with people. Looking down from the raised balcony over the ballroom entrance, Helios awed at the sheer number and opulence of the attendees. Even after several seconds of respectable pause and taking the first step down towards the ground level, Helios could still feel the sweat in his palms. Horatio, Laertes, and Polonius followed close behind him, each as dignified as their positions entailed. Finally the small group stopped at the bottom of the carpeted stairs.

"Good evening, Your Majesty." The crowds said as a whole, making Helios' heart jump up. He nodded back and made a somewhat awkward smile to his subjects.

Polonius came to stand beside Helios and spoke to the crowd. "My fellow country men, tonight is a historical moment in the history of our nation. After years of turmoil and strife, his majesty the rightful ruler of Rhodes has returned unharmed, to us. Thus tonight let us celebrate in his name and cast aside the dread and gloom that has beheld this country as we look forward once again to peace and prosperity!"

Ovations from the multitude of the crowd bombarded Helios' eardrums as the applause echoed in the ballroom. After this the crowd began to move again and Helios was motioned by Polonius to walk onto the floor of the room. With Polonius leading the way and Horatio and Laertes at his side, Helios walked slowly into the crowd. Looking around, Helios only saw more and more faces he did not recognize. The attendees however, all fixed their eyes on him as he walked past. Remembering what Polonius said in the morning about people's curiosity, Helios tried to ignore their stares.

"Ah, Polonius!" Someone suddenly cried out. Helios turned and saw a middle aged gentleman about the same age as Polonius. The man was tall, with a small pointed beard on his chin and a sharp but intelligent face. He smiled affably towards Polonius.

"What a pleasure to see you again! I don't believe we have seen each other since the Assembly meeting!" the stranger took Polonius' hands and shook them firmly.

"Yes, it is unfortunate, but we are in the service of the crown. Business must come first." Polonius laughed and apologized.

"I understand, my friend. Do come and pay me a visit sometimes, it's the height of spring and my garden is a wonder to behold during this time of the year!" At this point the tall man looked beyond Polonius and saw Helios standing behind him "Ah, please excuse my rudeness Your Majesty, for not greeting you earlier," he said and bowed deeply.

"No offense taken, um…" Helios smiled cordially, then realized he didn't know the person's name.

Seeing this, Laertes cleared his throat and introduced, "This is Sir Osric, Earl of Lardos. He is a member of the Royal Assembly."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Sir Osric," Helios nodded politely.

"Oh no please, the pleasure is all mine," Osric returned courteously. "It is truly fortunate to see that the rightful heir is here among us." He paused, "_Hopefully_, our country will be safe again."

Polonius narrowed his eyes for a fraction of a second then stepped forward and placed his hand on Osric's shoulder. Polonius smiled openly and said, "I think we should catch up on old times tonight Osric. Ah, I think I see Valtemand there. Shall we go and join him?"

Osric nodded. Polonius smiled toward Helios, "Please excuse me for a while Sire, it has been a while since I enjoyed the company of my friends present here tonight. I hope you will have a wonderful evening."

"Of course, thank you." Helios answered, a bit surprised by Polonius' suddenness.

Polonius looked to his son. "Laertes, could you please accompany His Majesty and introduce some of our guests to him?"

"Yes, father."

"Thank you." Polonius said briefly and walked off with Osric, and as Helios paused for a moment saw that they were soon joined by two to three other men whom Helios deduce one of which must be Valtemand.

_I wonder what they are talking about…feels like it's something important_ Helios thought to himself. Whatever it is, most likely it was politically related and/or else talks of old times, but beyond that Helios could not deduce anything more. The thought of Polonius and his old colleagues lingered in his mind for a moment longer but he soon ran out of time to himself as Laertes ushered him to another part of the floor. Polonius and Osric passed out of Helios' mind quickly for soon the young man was introduced to no less than two dozen people, all of them important, and all of them eager to speak with the king-to-be.

Finally, after an unaccountable amount of time, Laertes finally stopped leading his liege around the floor and came to a stop after they've left their last royal subject behind. "Where is Horatio?" Laertes said all of a sudden.

Helios looked around. He had been so immersed with making good impressions and acquaintances with the people attending the Ball that he had lost track of his bodyguard. He caught a flash of red hair from the ballroom floor. Indeed it was Horatio but he was not looking to find them in a hurry. Instead he seemed to be enjoying a pleasant conversation with three lovely young ladies. Laertes saw him too, but unlike the apathetic attitude Helios has, a stress mark popped from his forehead.

"People these days…" Laertes grumbled to himself, then turned and looked to Helios. "Excuse me Sire, but I will go retrieve Captain Horatio."

Somehow the way he said, "retrieve" made Helios feel a little nervous.

"It's fine, he seems to be enjoying himself," Helios commented

"That is the problem…" Laertes whispered under his breath before he stalked away in Horatio's direction.

It was then that Helios realized Horatio wasn't the only person he hadn't seen tonight so he shouted out to Laertes, "Laertes where is Ophelia?"

Laertes stopped and turned around to answer, "She's here, you will see her shortly," with that he disappeared into the crowd

Helios sighed and wondered for a moment where Ophelia was. Perhaps she didn't come to the Ball, Horatio had confirmed the fact that she was a shy person. But then again, Polonius seemed rather keen on her getting ready for the evening. It was just that Ophelia had always been around lately that initially he didn't even notice she wasn't with them. But now Helios thought he should go look for her. So much had happened tonight that as Helios had time to himself again, he felt dazed and tired. It wasn't that the evening had been unpleasant here, it was just that he had been playing a wearying political game of affluence and prestige the entire time. Combined with the heat of the crowded room and the nonsensical sounds, Helios was looking forward to the end of this evening and finding Ophelia.

Just as he was about to start looking her heard a man's voice announce, "Ladies and Gentlemen". Helios looked around and saw that the entertainers have left the stage and have been replaced with a group of musicians. The announcer kept on speaking as the crowd began moving towards the half circle stage. Helios moved with the crowd and people made way for him as he passed through.

"Now, may I present to you the Nightingale." The announcer said and the audience applauded.

The candles in the room were snuffed out, enough so that only a dim glow remained for people to make out silhouettes of each other. Lights were drawn on the side of the stage, giving it a rich goldenrod colored glow. The embroidered purple curtains were draw open, like the wings of a great bird unfolding.

The singer approached slowly from the shadows behind the folds of opulent fabric, her train trailing behind her like the tail of a beautiful peacock. The deep crimson chest piece she wore was stitched with a thin line of black with two stylized blue roses in the center. Her long robe clung to the edge of her shoulders, then flow under her breast piece and reappear at her waist to form the train. The border was covered in a thick band of churning vines and near bursting flower buds, set against an ebony background. The soft purple robe was complemented by near transparent bows that flow and danced ever so slightly as they met the light of the stage. Lilac hair decorated with beaded ornaments and two blue roses ripped in the air as she took each step, by step. The sun-burnt candlelight melted and amalgamated with the cool blue of her partially opened eyes.

Helios stood agape as Ophelia made it to the front of the stage, her hands cupped over her stomach. The room was completely quiet then the gentle notes from the piano started and waltzed into the room. Soon it was followed by the melody of string instruments with their sublime and woeful sounds. The two sounds blinded into a soft intro and Ophelia closed her eyes then opened them again as her lips parted. The voice of a person so very different from the demurring young woman Helios had known thus far appeared as she sung:

_The east, the herald of a coming day,_

_Where the sun touches the sky._

_Together the maid and her love walk,_

_Side by side, hand in hand._

_Always apart, always together,_

_My soul smiles, thinking of your love_

_While I gaze at the passing seasons, waiting!_

_Tragedy is the prize of lovers,_

_Eternal happiness was not ours to keep._

_Destiny has condemned us, _

_To spend lonely and cold nights apart._

_That is our allotted fate in this world,_

_Forever reaching towards each other,_

_So we might see the blue roses bloom!_

_I wept tears of loneliness,_

_Seeds of cobalt roses were sown._

_Nurtured by the sun's comforting light_

_Sapphire buds blossom and grow._

_Think not of farewells, my love, but of our reunion_

_My soul smiles, thinking of your love_

_While I gaze at the passing seasons, waiting!_

_This land, with fields of sky colored roses,_

_Where the shinning sun join the pure sky_

_Brief moments, always too short,_

_Yet blessed are we now,_

_For we will always be in each other's hearts._

_Forever reaching towards each other,_

_So we might see the blue roses bloom!_

The floor erupted in applause and Ophelia bowed to her audience. Helios smiled and clapped. Now he knew where Ophelia was and who was sing that night. As the ovation died down, Ophelia made her way off the stage and was greeted by a throng of people with flowers and presents in hand. She hesitantly but graciously accepted the gifts, smiling and nodding politely at complements from the young girls and ladies. A few comely young men approached her, offering her great bouquets of flowers and it took Ophelia a few minutes before she was able to walk out of the circle of starry admirers.

When she looked away from her last devotee, Ophelia's eyes opened wide when she saw Helios watching her.

"That was beautiful," Helios complimented sincerely. "You are a very talented singer."

Ophelia blushed and bowed, a little awkwardly due to the mass of flowers and gifts. "Thank you, Helios-sama."

As the music resumed in the ballroom, Ophelia's face glowed. "I am very honored by your words." She suddenly jerked up and blushed again when she noticed she was still holding the great pill of gifts. "Excuse me, I need a moment for safekeeping these few items, I will take only a moment, excuse me,"she repeated.

"That's fine, actually. But are you sure you can carry that many things?" Helios asked.

"Oh yes. Please, you mustn't trouble yourself with me," Ophelia looked away, not meeting Helios' eyes as he spoke with her.

"It's no trouble and the truth is I was about to go looking for you," Helios admitted.

Ophelia smiled and her blush deepened. "I see…thank you."

Helios took two of the large bouquets into his arm and walked side by side with Ophelia out one of the side entrances of the dance floor. Once they were in the hallway the atmosphere changed immediately. The oppressing heat from the crowd disappeared and the near cacophony was replaced by pleasurable silence. Helios sighed inwardly as his mind began to clear and no longer feel like it had been tossed in a hurricane.

"Here we are," Ophelia said.

Apparently the room she was to deposit her belongs was not as far off from the ballroom as Helios had thought. Luckily, little of the noise from the room was audible here and that was all Helios could ask for at the moment. Ophelia took out a small key and opened the painted doors. The lights were on inside the room and Helios saw a piano and sheet music in the middle of the room, which was half the size of the ballroom. Ophelia walked to the piano and put down her burden of presents and bouquets.

"Is this your practice room?" Helios asked

Ophelia demurred. "Yes, I had been practicing in here in preparation for the Ball...it isn't much but acoustically it's a very ideal room for vocal practice."

Helios walked closer to the instrument, but what caught his attention wasn't the grand piano. Instead it was a little metallic bird sitting on a circular disk with a small handle on the side. Helios lifted the base up in his hands and examined the detailed little article.

The bird was made of silver metal except for its tail, which was made from a shinny rusty substance. Small black pearls serve as the eyes and its golden beak was jointed so that it could open its mouth. The green and gold branch pattern on the circular face of the base reflected brilliantly in the warm light of the room. The handle, made from white porcelain, was very smooth, like it had been well used for a long time.

"Is this a music box?" He asked

Ophelia nodded and walked cover to stand beside him. "It is a mechanical singing bird, a nightingale to be more specific."

"It's lovely, and very well crafted." He complimented to her "Where did you get this?"

Ophelia paused again."…It was a present from my mother before she passed away; I've always had it with me," she admitted and a somber smile briefly flied across her face.

Helios looked away from Ophelia. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…"

"Oh, no it's fine. I don't have any memories of my mother. You see, she died giving birth to me," Ophelia explained. "Father said she originally planned to give it to me on my first birthday but she never got the chance..."

"But you do have your brother and your father." Helios said quietly "You still have the rest of your family."

Ophelia nodded again and smiled a fraction but didn't say anything else. Realizing it was time change topics, Helios gently placed the little bird back on the piano and picked up one of the sheet music. After reading what was printed on the sheet, he realized it was the same song Ophelia sung during the Ball. He turned to her and asked, "This is the song you performed tonight; it doesn't have a name."

"That's because it's an old song based on an even older story, a myth now really, so there is no name for it but it is my favorite song," The girl with lilac hair replied. "But it's a sad story."

"What is the legend about?" Helios asked, curious.

Ophelia stared at him, her eyes blinked once before she said, "I'm surprised you didn't know. In fact the service this morning had a lot to do with it."

"Oh…" Helios said slowly and scratched his cheek, feeling a little embarrassed. "You mean the story of how people, the world and such came about? Could you tell me what the legend is?"

Never expecting this request, Ophelia's eyes opened wide but she eventually nodded and walked towards one of the windows to collect her thoughts. "Many people on this planet have their own beliefs about how the world and people were created, both now and many centuries ago. The belief we have now of the Divine Spark was based on an old Rhodian legend."

Ophelia opened the round window and looked up at the mass of stars in the night sky. "The legend said that the world was created by the Sky goddess and the Sun god. They fell in love when the world was created and their children were the creatures of this world. The earth was created first, then the planets, animals, and finally humans. Each respected and cared for the other, like siblings ought to be. The Sky mother and her husband were very happy with each of their children and would nourish them with sweet water and warm lights, watching them grow with joyful smiles. Everyone was happy, there was no sadness or want, and people lived as equals.

"But the couple were so much in love that they were always together, and slowly the Sun's light became too intense that the pure water the Sky mother gave was not enough to keep the planets, animals, and people alive. Seeing the suffering of the world, the celestial parents grew worried and frustrated. They didn't want to leave each other but if they did not part then all their children will perish. The Sky wept at the thought of her children's sufferings but the thought of leaving her beloved was just as painful. Her tears came down, so much tear was shed that not even the Sun's hot rays could cool them and those tears formed the oceans. Finally the Sun decided he must leave the Sky, but he promised he would come to see her everyday. That's why we have sunset and sun raise. The Sky rejoices that her husband is back in her arms during the day and puts on a black veil to mourn his absence during the night."

At this point Ophelia reached up and took off one of the blue flowers in her hair, holding it in her hands. "But before he left, he left her something to try and consul her grief. He turned some of her tears into blue roses." She turned the rose she has in her hand, looking thoughtfully at it as she continued. "The rose blossoms during the day to celebrate the couple's reunion. It continues to blossom at night to keep his wife company and as the seal of an unbreakable promise that they will be together again. It is because the blue rose was a direct combination of the Sky and the Sun that the ancients believed it to be so potent. However, the Sky was still sad about her husband's absence, so her youngest children, the humans, decided to share in her sadness to ease her pain. But because we are not Gods we cannot fully contain the Sky's strong emotion and sadness quickly evolved to anger, envy, hatred, so on and so forth, eventually evolving into Evil. That is how we came to be who we are today, and to this day humans must still deal with the ultimate sorrows we've taken upon ourselves from our earliest ancestors. It may sound foolish for human to try and handle the burdens of a God and it even became our folly, but the root of it was born out of love and compassion. That is why some believe that people are inherently good, because in the beginning, there was kindness in our hearts"

After she finished telling the story, Ophelia laughed lightly. "I know the story seem very strange, but there are a lot of myths here in this country and this is one of the most famous ones. That is why I was so surprised that you didn't know."

Helios shook his head. "I think it's a wonderful story. There aren't many stories like this in the world." He smiled and nonchalantly taped a finger against the rim of the window and his eyes went to the pendent hanging above that hand, thinking private thoughts to himself. "A promise is something that is truly holy and sacred…" he said quietly.

"But in real life some promises cannot always be kept. Someone always forgets or tosses it away."

Helios looked at Ophelia with surprise. The young singer was gazing absently out the window, looking down; her right hand by her ear as the fingers lightly twisted the earring she wore. Slowly Ophelia turned towards him. "but sometimes, someone else remembers that promise and continues to wait…vainly at times but never giving up hope."

"Ophelia…" Helios began to ask but Ophelia shook her head and smiled.

"I'm sorry, I am being overly sentimental…it's just that I haven't talked like this to someone for a long time." She glanced at Helios and looked away again "Before you came back my family and Horatio are always very busy with the government and the military so I'm alone a lot of the time even though I am a senshi and lives in the palace. Singing was one of the only pleasures I found while here. Because of my status as well as due to other...reasons, the people here find it hard to approach me." Ophelia smiled ruefully to herself. "Now I have gotten use to being by myself, it feels odd to have someone listen to me, especially since it is you, Helios-sama."

The stars twinkled overhead as she bit her lips and reached up to touch her earrings again "I didn't think you really wanted to talk to me, that perhaps you were still angry at me for what I did. But then you asked to help me, and for me to tell you the story…I'm not sure how to act, or think…"

"I should apologize then, for making you feel that ways." Helios said to an astonished Ophelia. Thinking back to the morning service, Helios thought about the secret of the chapel and how isolated and uncomfortable he felt, carrying the weight of that secret on his shoulders. "And, I suppose I understand how you feel…" Helios admitted, "People, for some reason or another, feel isolated and lonely at times. There's no one to share your thoughts with, no one to share the crushing weight on your mind." He smiled kindly, "But you can always reach out of that shell."

Turning to face Ophelia and meeting eyes with his own, Helios said, "Someone taught me long ago that people should not be alone forever and friends do not try to distance themselves from each other. Please think of me as a friend and not just a king. If you can think of it that way and put yourself on equal grounds with someone else, then you won't be so lonely anymore."

Ophelia slowly nodded; her face a warmer rosy hue than before. "…Yes Helios-sama".

Helios chuckled at this. There are something, he thought to himself, that can't be changed.

"And thank you…" Ophelia said quietly, joining her newly rediscovered friend and liege in a smile.

A rap of knocks came from the door and Horatio hurriedly stepped in and closed the door behind him. Waiting a few seconds for something, like a mouse listening for the sounds of a cat's padded feet, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"So, you two have been hiding out here huh?" he smiled, rubbing his chin as he walked towards them.

"Helios-sama and I have been talking about the story behind the song I sung tonight, amongst other things." Ophelia explained.

Horatio inclined his head. "Ah…" he glanced behind him and said in a softer voice, "Um you haven't seen Laertes around have you?"

Helios and Ophelia shook their heads in unison and Horatio breathed an obvious breath of relief.

But just as he let the gasp bit of his ease, the door flew open and there stood a _very_ angry person with round glasses. Horatio spun around sharply. He took a breath so sharp that it turned into a squeak and his face turned blue.

"Horatio…I have been looking for you!" Laertes whispered with deadly intent, his eyes hidden behind two glistening spectacles. Huge sweat drops formed over the heads of the two innocent observers while pale lines appeared on Horatio's face.

"Uh, for me?" Horatio tried to smile but the corner of his mouth was twitching badly.

Laertes marched over to Horatio and grabbed the back of Horatio's collar and began dragging him out. As Horatio cried for mercy, Laertes stopped and looked back at Ophelia and Helios. "Excuse me Sire, but I believe we can return to the floor now that I have located the Captain."

Helios sighed resignedly and smiled to himself. Turning around, he said to Ophelia, "Shall we?"

Ophelia, her arms drew up to her chest, cast a willing smile and followed him out the room as the cold silver nightingale watched from the piano top. As the group left the room, the reflection of the other Nightingale seemed warmer somehow.

_Perhaps people do sometimes forget the promises they made. Sometimes the thread between individuals wears thin and almost snaps, but that is not to say it cannot be repaired because one way or another, a promise ties people together…_

A/N Again, this is a chapter I have very mixed feeling about. I'm writing this for pure character development and frankly I'm not sure I'm doing a good job. (Sigh) Oh well, enough whining; life goes no. Now, the lyrics to the song Ophelia sung were quite obviously written by myself (as well as the whole legend/story thing too). Not that I'm flaunting the fact that I wrote it, it's the fact that I actually wrote a poem that's amazing. Trust me, as much as I like Shakespeare and Robert Frost and music, I only write poems when required to do so in English class so hopefully the lyrics are okay (smile). I've also been hearing that readers are hungry for action, well you'll be seeing plenty in the next chapter, and it's a story with a twist: hint, hint. There's also been concern with the coupling in this story but telling everyone would spoil the plot. All I will say is keep reading and following this story, you _will_ find out.

P.S. Lardos is an actual place on the island of Rhodes (yes, for those who don't know, Rhodes is an island in the Mediterranean Sea). I needed the name of a place so I just randomly picked it.


	5. A Series of Haphazard Events Part 1

** Act 4 "A Series of Haphazard Events " Part 1**

In the Corridor of Time and Space, Neo Sailor Moon stared at the floor as she walked. In the background the Quartet were talking amongst themselves, absorbed in the excitement of their first serious mission. Their group has been walking for quite a while now, but this was no surprise since it means that their destination was a place far removed from their own. They were lucky actually, since for all they know they might be traveling light-years right across the cosmos now. A slowly growing gleam of white light at the end of the hallway was the only clue they have that they were getting closer to their goal.

"You okay?" Sailor Saturn asked

Neo Sailor Moon looked up and smiled "Mm, just thinking to myself that's all…"

"He'll be fine." Her friend said reassuringly, for it was all too obvious whom the princess was thinking about.

"I know, at least I hope so…" Neo Moon admitted and sighed audibly "The Voice did tell me that he was taken back to be placed as a king. If that's the case, then those people should be treating him fairly well but I don't think he will accept that choice very willingly." She said to Saturn.

The girl with neatly cut black hair thought about this "Well, Helios-kun isn't the kind of person who would sit back and do nothing about his situation. He may look passive but he has a strong will and a calm mind" She smiled softly.

"That's true…but still," Chibi Usa sighed with a wane smile "If he were to get into real trouble, like a fight or something…I doubt he would be able to hold his ground"

"I think you should give him a little more credit than that," Saturn protested "There might be a side of him you have yet to see." Sailor Saturn gave the other girl a mindful wink.

The princess felt herself sweat drop at this idea. "Really…" she said doubtfully. Somehow it was just hard imagining that white haired boy as a person who can defeat someone in a fight. Super-villains maybe if he used his crystal, but otherwise…Neo Moon's thought bubble popped off right there and she said more depressed than she wanted to sound. "Let's hope that won't happen, Saturn."

* * *

A thin white haired boy landed squarely on his back with a loud thud. With a moan, he slowly pushed himself back up as his instructor/bodyguard shook his head.

"You have to know where your opponent is when you fight," Horatio said after he had swept Helios' legs out from under him.

The sorry student nodded grudgingly. Helios had always dreaded the notion of "fighting", since he neither wanted people to assail each other nor for himself to get involved. But the people around him have persuaded him into doing this by saying it was part of his new "duty" to learn how to protect himself, at least to some extent. That's why since morning, Horatio has been teaching him general points about handling a sword and even though they had been going at it since early morning, Helios was still not getting any better at avoiding being rendered defenseless.

"Come on, again, remember to hold the sword firmly but not too tightly. It's harder to control your weapon if your grip is too tight," Horatio instructed. Both men were wearing training outfits that consisted of a loss white shirt to allow flexibility and a padded vest. The mock weaponry they used were steel-bladed rapiers that have had their tips and edges blunted. However if the pair aren't careful, the swords can still inflict serious pain and injury.

Horatio twirled his sword around in his hand and positioned himself in the on-guard pose. Helios, sweating and breathing hard, his body sore and bruised in some places, swallowed and took his readied pose, trying to remember all the things Horatio taught him during their lesson.

In a rush of movement, Horatio charged at Helios, his sword coming in low. Helios quickly lowered his own sword to parry but Horatio broke away an instant after their sword connected and instead came at him from the opposite side. In a split second Helios' sword met Horatio's sword again, but Horatio was too strong and Helios had to back away or risk being shoved onto the floor. However, taking a step back made his balance open to attack and Horatio foresaw this clearly. He suddenly moved away just as Helios was stepping away, making the latter loss his balance. That split second of time was all Horatio needed to smoothly hit Helios' blade right above the guard. The force of that blow, being so near the hand, successfully knocked the weapon out of his student's grasp.

The blunted sword skittered to the floor while Horatio's sword remained soundly in his control. Helios sank down to the floor, exhausted and tired, looking for all the world like he wanted this to be over with. Horatio lowered his own sword and sat down beside him.

"You've got pretty good reflexes but you always hesitate and leave too many openings," he said, but when he turned around he could tell Helios didn't care about that right now. Horatio sighed and began to stand up, "Well, I guess that'll be enough for today."

Helios only managed to nod mutely.

Horatio looked at him silently then squatted down and stared at Helios eye to eye. "What is it?" he asked for all intensive purposes, his practice sword resting in the crook of his arm as he rested his hands on his knees. "If it's because of today's practice you shouldn't worry about it, everyone has it tough the first time they try to learn to use a sword."

Helios looked away and broke off their eye contact, he let out a frustrated and dispirited breath before finally saying, "But I don't think I was ever meant to do things like this, I just can't…" his voice wandered off.

Not too surprisingly, Horatio smiled at this. "Oh come on! A little wounded pride like that will heal in no time!" At this point, he seemed to remember something. The idea was obviously pleasing to him because he stood up and winked at Helios, which in this case meant he was up to something. "I've got an idea that will cheer you up; follow me." He reached out a hand and pulled Helios up before energetically striding out from the room. Confused, Helios looked bewilderedly at Horatio's back as they left the practice room.

After a change of clothes, things got even more suspiciously as they walked towards Laertes' office.

"Horatio, just what do you have in mind?" Helios finally asked.

Horatio grinned "It's a good one; you'll see."

Question marks popped up in Helios' mind and he gave Horatio a perplexed look but the young Captain only grinned wider, obviously whatever he had planned pleased him a great deal.

"But if you're so anxious to know, I'll tell you then." Horatio said as they walked away from the living quarters and into a wide hallway. "At the end of this week is the May Day celebration. It's one of the biggest festivals we have all year. And since you haven't gotten out of this place since you came here, I think a little outing will do you some good."

Helios blinked several times before he said, "But will Laertes be alright with this?"

"Don't be a worry-wart," he reached into his jacket and deftly pulled out a neatly folded note. "I'm going to leave him a note in his office, telling him we were going to be gone for a short while. He should be in a meeting right now so I'll sneak in and put this on his desk. There's a little-used passage along the back of the palace that we can take so no one will notice us. As long as he finds it _after_ we're gone, everything's a-okay!" he said with a confident thumbs-up.

Helios had never really considered himself to be pessimistic but he had a bad feeling about this whole thing. And frankly the whole business made him feel guilty, like a student ditching school for the first time, but that didn't stop Horatio.

As they approached Laertes' office, Horatio drew up a finger to his lip. Helios nodded slightly as Horatio softly opened the door, looked around and tiptoed inside once he found that no one was in there. He took out the prewritten note and put it in plane view on Laertes' giant oak desk and sneaked back outside. Satisfied with his work, he shouted enthusiastically, "That should do it, now let's go and have some fun!"

* * *

A little while later two young men were strolling down the hilly streets of the city of Elsinore. The streets were lined with tall two or three story houses, some made of white stones, others painted cream or beige. The smooth cobbled stone path was busy with pedestrians, carriages, and carts, going back and forth. Some people went in and out of open-front shops while others were doing business in front of stands that dotted the street side.

"Spring and Summer are the busiest seasons in Elsinore," Horatio explained while Helios admired the scenery as they walked on the right side of the street, squeezing through the crowd of people who all had places to go and things to do. "Right now all the people here are doing their shopping in preparation of the holiday. It also means there's a lot of goods being sold and goodies to find too," he grinned from ear to ear.

The ribbon on their collar fluttered slightly as the wind rippled it slightly. Horatio had also managed to pull some of lose tuffs of hair into a small pony tail at the base of his head, tied with a short length of string. The two of them were wearing simple and relatively light clothing in consideration for the increasingly warm weather. Helios wore a long cool gray coat, and Horatio has donned a simple sienna-brown colored jacket.

"Oi, Hori!" a loud baritone voice cried. Horatio looked over and waved at a middle-aged man leaning on a cane, standing behind a fruit stand. Horatio quickly crossed the street to meet him. "Haven't seen you around for a long while!" the man beamed.

"Hi Uncle Philemon!" Horatio greeted energetically.

The man's wife, who had been busy with something, stood up and wiped her hands on her apron. "We just got a new shipment of fresh apples from up north, and we were hopin' you'd come along so we kept a few for you."

Horatio smiled and even blushed a little while boyishly rubbing the back of his head. "Thanks Auntie Baucis, you really shouldn't have."

"Oh don't mention it dear, let me go get them from the basket for ya." With that she retreated to the back of the stand and began picking apples from a woven straw basket.

The man, who was in his early 50's, laughed and said happily "Good thing I spotted you today, it gets boring here without you…" he then noticed the obviously unfamiliar person standing beside their young friend. "And who might this young man be?" he inquired politely.

Helios hesitated, know sure how he should answer. Luckily, he didn't have to since Horatio answered the question for him. "Oh, he's a old friend of mine who's been away for a long time and came back to Rhodes very recently. His name is…" Horatio's eyes turned in thought for a second when he spotted a wagon repair shop's sign half a block away "…Cesario, yes, and I was just taking him on a small tour of the city."

"Oh, what a coincidence, the same name as Old Cesario from down the street! Though I have to say he looks nothing like that old grease-monkey!" Philemon laughed heartily.

"Glad to meet you sir," Helios nodded and managed half a smile, feeling awkward in this strange, and rather puzzling situation.

The lady of the small establishment, now carrying a small bag full of fruits, smiled at Helios. "Oh, what a darling boy you are, just like Hori here!" she said sweetly.

Horatio blushed again and graciously accepted the gifts. "Come on Auntie, you're embarrassing me…" he admitted while the couple chuckled enjoyably at his reaction. "So how have you guys been lately?" Horatio turned to ask as he shifted the bag in his arms.

The shopkeeper's face sobered as he shifted his weight on his cane and shook his head, wrinkles Helios had not noticed at first appeared on the man's forehead. "Well…things here are still pretty tough. This shipment you see here was only the third one we've received in the last month and a half. I'm sure you've been around to the other ports in the country and I don't know about them, but though the roads are reopening and ships are going back and forth on a regular bases again some people are still barely scratching a living here in Elsinore."

His wife nodded in sad agreement. "There were so many refugees here during the war, they have only just begun to move back to their homes. And even if they did they most likely will find nothing left! People here say it's because of them, crowding the city and all, that we get shortages."

"Isn't the government doing anything to help?" Helios asked, feeling unsettled by this information while Horatio remained silent on the conversation.

Baucis sighed heavily, her eyes looked weary and the expression accentuated the many strands of graying hair she had. "The people in the government say they are, by encouraging resettlin' of land and such, but really, what people need is to be able to stay afloat right now! But how are they going to do that if some of them don't even have anything right now to begin with?" She motioned with her head toward the lower part of the city, the portion barely visible on the horizon. "While you were gone during the war a lot of desperate souls settled in the lower part of the city where there was once plenty of space available. But because nobody had money or even a place to live in, many have taken to being thieves and crooks, joining gangs and terrorizing their own neighborhoods. Personally I feel sorry for those folks, but you won't find an opinion like mine common here in Elsinore. Most people would rather ignore them or clear them out, but they are people too; it's just so sad that they can't improve their lot." She concluded with another sigh.

"But couldn't the Parliament or someone distribute some funds, that way they-" Helios contended.

Philemon cut him off. "They did, but God knows how much of that money ever got to anyone. We're luck, you see, cause our local district mayor is Prospero. He's a just and fine man and even contributed his own money to orphanages, almshouses, and hospitals. But the other bureaucrats are greedy rats who take all the money and fatten themselves!"

The opinionated remark left a quiet lull for a long moment when the shopkeeper finally said with a decisiveness tone in his voice, "Well, enough of this depressing gibberish. You young people should go and have some fun."

Horatio nodded. "We'll be leaving then. Next time when I come around we can have a nice long chat."

"Farewell!" Philemon waved with his free hand as the two young men continued on their way. "And it was a pleasure meeting you!" he shouted to Helios who smiled and waved back.

After leave the couple behind, Helios looked down at the ground and mumbled to himself, "I never realized there was so many problems just here in Elsinore…" Looking at Horatio he asked, "How did you ever get to know them Horatio?"

Horatio quickly brought his finger to his lips and said in a quiet voice, "Hori is my alias here. I am a young sailor who travels around the world on his uncle's trading ship. Trust me; people won't treat me the same way if they knew my real name and identity." Helios nodded his understanding. With that out of the way, Horatio smiled and took out an apple from the little paper bag and rubbed its surface clean on his sleeve before taking a bite.

He chewed a bit and swallowed. "Sometimes I'd come out by myself and walk around here. Ever once in a while I'd help out the locals. You know, retrieve a stranded cat, or load a spilled cart. I met Aunt Baucis and Uncle Philemon a few years ago when I help take Uncle Philemon to a doctor after his leg got ran over by a reckless coach driver. Since then I'd visit them once in a while and they've been really nice to me. They didn't have any children so they've kind of adopted me."

He smiled faintly. However, their discussion about the Lower City caste sudden doubt into Helios' mind. He had seen the sad twisted dreams of people as they loose themselves to the harsh and cruel reality of everyday life, a life with no hope and no future. He was certain there were people like that here in Rhodes, in Elsinore as well. But what could he do? Even though the good couple told him about the many problems in existence, what could he do about it?

Horatio's words temporarily distracted him from his thoughts as he said, "Anyway, we should probably call each by the names I come up with when there's other people around. The last thing we want is to give our identities away"

"Huh? Oh, I know," Helios stuttered "I'll be careful…" he said solemnly, his mind still on something else.

Horatio studied Helios for a moment before he reached into the bag and tossed an apple to Helios who almost didn't catch it in time as he was so caught off guard. "Don't be so serious, you need to take it one step at a time." Horatio said meaningfully as he passed Helios by.

Helios stared at the beautiful smooth red apple in his hands before gently slipping it into a pocket.

At this time the sound of rhythmic marching feet came from around the corner. Without thinking, Horatio pulled Helios against the side of the street as a unit of armed and stern faced men walked past them in a straight single-file. The men calmly looked at the crowd with watchful eyes as they passed, and though some people didn't even notice them, most lowered their voice and followed the men with their eyes until they have passed by.

Once the line of half a dozen armed men passed, the voices resumed, although still a few decibels lower than before. Helios looked bewilderedly at Horatio who explained, "Patrols, they come around every once in a while, looking for anyone causing trouble in public."

Helios shot a disapproving glance at the men, "but isn't is a little excessive for the police to be walking around in armor and carrying swords like this?"

"No, those people are soldiers." He drew a long breath and looked in the direction of the line of armed men. "Sorry, forgot to tell you this but the city is still under martial law due to the war. Even though the two sides have reached a peace agreement, lawlessness is still a problem here and around parts of the country. Since the government doesn't have the resources and manpower to send out troops to keep order, the local administrator are given the task of have their own patrols survey their area. Just Elsinore itself has three separate district mayors for each of its three neighborhoods. These guys would count as the more pleasant type compared to others." He gave a nod in the soldier's direction.

Seeing the apprehension on the young prince's face, Horatio slapped Helios' shoulder. "Don't act so gloomy all the time, come on!" he urged.

Helios didn't say anything. He glanced back at the people on the street. Somehow, the flavorful setting and its charming inhabitant seemed to have lost some of their brilliance since he spoke with Baucis and Philemon. Helios sighed inwardly, there was no use thinking about this now, he reasoned. He should be enjoying his time outside and after a few seconds of silent thought, Helios decided to follow Horatio and try to leave the thoughts of broken dreams behind him.

The afternoon sun was shinning overhead along with cream-puff shaped clouds as the encounter with the armed patrols quickly passed out of everyone's mind. Business was booming, especially with the summer celebration just around the corner and the swelling number of people on the streets were increasing as Horatio led Helios to their next destination. Soon Helios realized that Horatio had led him to the entrance of a large open-air bazaar. The neat little shops they had passed by before could not compare to the size and scale of this very noisy and bustling market. Wooden stalls of luxury good and imported merchandise; from carpets to imported fabrics, magical ingredients to spices were sold here. This section of the city was different from the smaller street market he and Horatio had passed through earlier where the two friendly couple had their shop. Here there were few grocery sellers and many more exotic and obviously foreign customers here. People dressed in fancy and elaborate hats and dresses passed by each other, many of them looking interestedly at the goods shop owners had to offer while others were bargaining right in front of their ware.

Helios hadn't seen so many people gathered in one place since his time in Tokyo and even there the crowd was no so closely packed and the atmosphere so alive and vibrant as it was here.

"This place is huge!" Helios admitted.

Hearing this Horatio smirked. "Of course it is, it's the biggest market in Rhodes!" He took the last apple from the bag and placed it into another pocket, wiping his hands on his knees "Come on, don't just stand there. If you stand still doing nothing for too long people will think you're for sale!"

"What!"

Horatio laughed. "I was joking, but you won't see much if you just stand there!" Speaking so, the two of them began to move through the crowd. The two boys looked and stared while other people bought and sold. After a while something apparently caught Horatio's eyes and he tapped Helios on the shoulder "I'll be right back." He said briefly and turned toward a small shop behind a group of chattering old women.

Curious to see what Horatio was up to, Helios craned his neck to look but stopped when he felt a tug on his sleeve. Looking down, he saw a little girl with a basket full of red wild roses hanging on her left arm. She smiled at him and asked in a hopeful voice, "Would you like to buy a flower, Sir? A penny for a pretty rose, and three for a bouquet."

Helios couldn't help but smile. The girl was around six years old and from the state of her plain and worn dress it seemed very likely she was from the area the old couple had been talking about earlier. Her basket was also worn but the mass of beautiful flora and crisp green leaves made even the patched dress and tired basket look sweet and innocent on the young flower seller.

While Helios studied her, the girl's big puppy eyes were trying their hardest to work their effect on her prospective customer. If he had any coins on him Helios knew he would have succumbed to those pleading eyes so he said apologetically, "I'm sorry but I don't have any money on me."

The little girl's big brown eyes frowned as she pulled up a confused expression. "But you don't look poor, why would you not have any money on you?" Little did she know that his friend Horatio had decided to take their entire allowance with him and was now nowhere to be found.

"I'm really sorry but if you want," Helios kneeled and reached into his pocket to retrieve the apple Horatio had tossed him earlier. "I will trade you this for one of your flowers. What do you think?"

The little girl stared at the yummy, juicy looking apple and licked her lips longingly. Finally overcoming her doubts, she smiled and gave a big nod. The girl accepted the apple and tucked it carefully into a pocket on her skirt and picked out a delicate looking flower from the basket and handed it to Helios.

Helios accepted the rose graciously; treating it as if he had been handed a precious jewel. "Thank you" he said with a gentle smile.

The acknowledgment surprised the young girl who had probably never heard a well-dressed person like him speak kindly to her, much less a word of thanks for a small, seemingly insignificant flower. Her tiny face blushed and her smile broadened before she walked away to continue with her business.

Helios stood up again and felt a bit more lighthearted than before. It could be that the sweet innocent energy of the girl was picked up by his connection to the Golden Crystal, but dreamer or not, Helios was just glad that at least he had managed to make someone smile today.

By now Horatio was done with whatever he had been doing and was returning as he dodged a cart and a boy whom almost ran into him. He smiled at Helios as he returned to Helios' side "All right, let's go! I still want to show you the light tower over at the port-"

His words were suddenly cut off when a scream pierced the air followed by an angry shouting voice. The cause of the commotion was immediately apparent as the two boys turned around and saw the little flower girl sprawled on the dusty ground. Her basket had been upturned and the flowers have all been scattered over the ground beside her. She was sobbing while a tall muscular man wearing a red bandana over his bold head and dressed in a matching red shirt stood over her, glaring at her with irritated eyes under thick black eyebrows.

"I told you I don't want any damn flowers, you little wrench!" he growled. "If I see you again I'll make sure you can never open your annoying mouth ever again!" He shouted and brought his thick boots down on a neatly tied bouquet. Looking down, the man's face grew darker "Ah shit, your stupid flowers just dirtied my new boots!" He took a step closer to her and reached out a demanding hand "Now your gonna have to pay for the polishing!"

The little girl gulped helplessly, her face red and tear stained, too afraid to utter a word or move. The onlookers looked pitifully at her but it was obvious none of them could do anything. Finally, a wizened old man said carefully, "Caliban, she's only a child, don't you think you should…"

"Shut up old geezer, no one here asked for your opinion!" Caliban barked. The old man shivered at those words and melted back into the crowd.

Helios however, could not stand and watch. He took a step forward and shouted, "Stop it! Do you have no shame in what you are doing!"

Caliban looked up and grinned haughtily when he saw who had spoken out against him this time. "What now, a thin little girly-guy like you telling me what I should be ashamed of? I've seen old women more threatening than you!" He then broke out laughing, making Helios only angrier than ever.

The thought of unleashing the Golden Crystal crossed Helios' mind but but before he hand any time to make a decision, Horatio walked in front of him and into the circle that had formed around the scene.

"I have to agree though, picking on a little girl, you would think those muscles would give a big guy like you a little more dignity," he said coolly, crossing his arms.

Caliban narrowed his eyes, intrigued by the boldness of this unassuming young man. "You have no idea who you're messin' with, boy. But since you're so insistent, you want to try them out?" he said threateningly and flexed the bulge of muscles on his arm.

Horatio shrugged as if someone had asked him a trivial question. "Nah, I doubt you'll be able to move fast enough with those."

Caliban glared down at Horatio who calmly met his eyes. The giant rolled up his sleeves and cracked his knuckles "You're going to regret you ever stood up to me, you little bastard!" So saying he threw a powerful fist towards Horatio's face. Horatio smiled and smoothly took one tiny step to the right. Caliban, who had thrown a lot of blind force into his swing, barely managed to catch himself before hitting the ground. He stumbled around and looked back to see Horatio still standing behind him, perfectly balance on two feet.

The little girl took the chance to run and took refuge behind Helios while Horatio chuckled and waved his hand with a fake apologetic expression on his face. "Sorry, I wasn't ready. Now, how about we start over and get this matter settled with?"

The look in Caliban's eyes was full of hatred and rage. He said through grinding teeth as he stood back up. "Fine then…What are you gonna fight me with? The air?"

The grin still on his face, Horatio shook his head "Nope, although it's a bit of a waste," he reached into his pocket and took out the last apple he had with him "I'll use this."

At this Caliban stared speechless for several seconds before roaring back in laughter. "What, a dinky little apple! No wonder you would challenge me, you're crazy!" Caliban laughed so hard he was holding his stomach.

Horatio threw the apple lightly up in the air and caught it again "Yup, this 'dinky little apple' as you call it will be what I use to bring you down." He said confidently.

Seeing the convinced look on his opponent's face, Caliban sobered a fraction but the mean grin was still plastered arrogantly over his face. "Oh yea, then try me!" With that said, he charged Horatio again, this time with explosive speed.

Horatio narrowed his eyes. Stepping out with his left foot like a baseball pitcher, in a flash of his arm the apple flew out of his hand like a bullet and struck Caliban squarely between the eyes before he could get within ten feet of Horatio. The man staggered backwards, his head swerving slightly like it was on springs when his leg suddenly lost their solidity and he collapsed in a dead faint on the ground. Horatio dusted off his hands as if he had just taken out a bag of garbage while the crowd applauded and whistled when they realized Caliban won't be getting up any time soon. Almost immediately some people came up to him and patted him on the shoulder, telling him what a great thing he had done.

While Horatio was enjoying the adoration of the crowd, Helios helped the little girl pick up the flowers that had split onto the ground. "Here you go." He said as he placed the last handful of roses back in the basket. The girl looked at him, her eyes still quivering slightly from the fright Caliban had dealt her.

Helios smiled at her understandingly "don't worry," he said with his most reassuring voice "that man won't bother you now."

The girl in the brown frock regarded his word for a moment then nodded. Helios patted her head for added assurance. The gentle touch of the beautiful young man seemed to have returned her to her former cheerfulness as she looked up and nodded. "Thank you Sir." She whispered and gave Helios a shy smile.

"You're welcome." Helios chuckled and watched as the girl walked away. Before she disappeared completely down the street, she turned around and waved her protector goodbye along with a big, broad smile.

Helios waved back. But with his back turned, he didn't see the once unconscious Caliban pick himself up. Nor did he see the bloodthirsty look in his eyes as he pulled out a small but extremely sharp knife. What happened next happened so fast that most bystanders didn't even knew it occurred until they saw the immediate aftermath.

Caliban lunged at Helios who was completely open to attack. Helios turned around enough to see the blade glaring in the sunlight as it dashed towards him. Just then the knife veered off as Horatio somehow dashed beside Caliban's arm and grabbed his upper arm. Horatio twisted around suddenly and with his other hand hit Caliban's wrist and knocked the weapon loose. As the knife fell away, Horatio pulled the thug against his back and threw him smoothly over his shoulder. By the time people realized what had happened, Caliban was on the ground. Amidst gasps and awes, the dazed Caliban lifted his head and tried to shake him mind clear. But before he got his chin another inch off the dirt, his noggin was shoved violently back into it by Horatio's knee and he felt before he saw his own knife held at his jugular.

"You little-!" Caliban wanted to swear but the sharp knife was only pressed even tighter against his throat until another fraction of pressure the weapon will cut into his neck. Realizing this, fear for the first time entered Caliban's bulging, bugged-out eyes as he drew his eyeballs to the edge of his eyes. What he saw was no longer the nonchalant young punk Caliban had thought his opponent was. Instead he saw a face shadowed against the sun, purple irises burning and a face with no expression.

The uproar of the crowd was loud and some screams punctuated the air. But Horatio noticed none of this as he lowered his face and whispered beside Caliban's ear that made the color drain out of the older man's face.

"If you know what's good for you I suggest you leave this area and go find a hole to crawl into…_right now!_" he empathized in case Caliban missed the point.

Horatio slowly lifted his knee off of the thug's neck. Caliban turned around and crawled away, shaking and sweating. The look in Horatio's eyes did not change and he followed Caliban with his blank violet eyes while Caliban blinked wildly as his breath rushed in and out of his lungs, unable to move further due to paralyzing fear. As a last act, Horatio raises the knife and throws it right into the ground between Caliban's legs. The once brash and proud man let out a cowardly whimper as his brain final clicked enough he could scramble up and run, pushing against the crowd to get away.

"I-I won't forget this you-you, you lap dog and you!" he pointed shakily at Helios "I'll get you both for this!" he screamed half-wittedly as he ran as fast as his still flimsy legs could take him.

Another round of loud murmurs went through the crowd. Horatio bend over and holding it flat on the side, broke the blade with his foot then tossed it on to a nearby pile of rubble. Ignoring the crowd, he turned to Helios and asked seriously, "You all right?"

Helios nodded precariously, his heart still thumping very audibly. But the look he had seen in Horatio's eyes almost disturbed him as much as nearly getting knifed even though it was gone now. The brief shadow that wrapped itself over Horatio's bright eyes made his seem so completely different from the person Helios had gotten to know during the past weeks and month that he was sure Horatio had switched personalities right before his eyes.

Horatio however, didn't seem to notice Helios' other reason for anxiety. Satisfied that his friend is unharmed, he smiled to the crowd and raised his arms "Nothing more to see here folks, sorry about the disturbance!"

The crowd looked at each other and people began to leave, while others lingered to talk to each other about the incident. Finally once most of the spectators have left, Horatio walked behind Helios and saw that his face was still set in a worried expression. He looked at Helios curiously "You really okay?"

"Yes…mostly…" Helios admitted and tried to put the thought of what had happened out of his mind with a feigned smile.

Horatio grinned in his usual manner "I know a place where we can rest for a bit and it's not far from here." So saying he started moving into the bazaar toward their new destination. Helios wasn't exactly enthusiastic about the idea but it was better than standing in the street with everyone's eyes still fixed on them. Reluctantly, he followed.

* * *

Caliban ran down the street, shoving people out of the way until he circled to the back gates of a large mansion. Located in one of the up-scale districts of Elsinore, the main body of the mansion was beyond street level but the tall building and grand iron gated entrance displayed to the public clearly said that this was the dwelling of someone very affluent. The people who lived around the area were themselves well-to-do individuals that have gained their fortune through enterprises and the transaction of money. What they don't know however, is that this particular family also ran a few back-alley businesses better not known to anyone in their social circle.

Glancing behind him, Caliban paused before knocking on the painted wooden side door used by servants.

"What business do you have?" a gruff sounding old voice asked from behind the door.

"It's me, I need to see the young masters." Caliban whispered back

Without another word, the wooden door opened and Caliban slipped inside before it was closed a second later.

Walking across a neatly kept stone courtyard, through a dim side entrance and up a flight of polished stairs, Caliban was motioned to wait in front of a large pair of carved oak doors by the old manservant who knocked and went inside. A muffled conversation lasted for a few seconds as Caliban waited anxiously outside, chewing his lips until the servant came back and said in his grouchy voice "The young masters will see you now."

Stepping into the room, Caliban lowered his head respectfully as his eyes fell on the two figures seated in the well-adorned drawing room. Both men were about the same age, no more than 20 years old. Their immediate manner and appearance however, spoke volumes about their difference in personality. The man sitting on the right had shiny, slightly curly black hair that looked like it was painstakingly brushed and combed just moments ago. His shirt was perfectly pressed and the lacy white ribbon at his throat was tied into a handsome bow. His short jacket was made from carmine colored brocade with gold thread sown onto the boarders. He wore a pair of polished black boots, a ridding stick rested comfortably nearby leaning on the side of the chair. His refined clothes were complemented by his elegant appearance. Long, thin eyebrows and a small well-shaped nose made the poised man look almost effeminate as he sat there, holding a delicate teacup in his gloved hand.

His companion however, was a different story. With lengthy sand colored hair, sienna brown eyes and fine clothes, one would think this person had a lot in common with his companion. Instead he left his jacket unbuttoned and his shirt was messy and wrinkly; a thin untied ribbon hanging around his neck gave him a lightly disheveled and very lazy demeanor. Rather than sitting poised in the chair, he sat slouched with his head resting on the chair's back. His hand was fiddling with a contraption of some sort that looked eerily like a Swiss army knife on steroids, with nasty looking miniature knives of different shapes and forms sticking out of it. This man yawned as Caliban made his way in front of them and the other seated man asked without opening his eyes or putting down his cup.

"What is it Caliban?" the young man opened his eyes to reveal matching gold-tan shaded eyes with that of the other man, showing their blood relations. "You look like a spooked duck after a bird shot." He turned away nonchalantly and placed the teacup back on the small tea table between him and his brother.

"Trouble, Master Guildenstern!" Caliban replied in a low, still somewhat shaky tone.

Hearing this the slothful looking man looked away from his mishmash of an army knife "Trouble? Who would have the guts to stir up trouble these days?" he said disinterestedly.

"Let him finish first Rosencrantz," Guildenstern said smiling, "this could be interesting…it has been a while since anyone troubled us openly. But…" Guildenstern lifted his eyes onto Caliban and started at him with the intent of a hawk looking at a rodent "but if this was committed outside of our 'jurisdiction' it would cause some problems, and not just for the person who crossed us…" he let the sentence hang.

Caliban gulped audibly and dropped down onto his knees, bowing his head "I'm-I'm sorry sir, but things happened so quickly and all; I would never want to damage your reputation in anyway! I-I never-"

"All right already, geez, tell us what happened first before your mouth starts blabbing." Rosencrantz said irritably as he righted himself in his chair and sat in a more dignified position.

"Yes-yes sir!" Caliban looked up and began to recount his story in earnest, though of course with a few changes "I was going up town to look around, you know, for fun, sight seeing for the holiday. But then I accidentally ran into this little girl and she started crying. I was gonna help her but then this guy suddenly started accusing me of bullying her! You should have seen him, all spiffy and trimmed, acting like he's a big shot's boy but thin and weak looking, like a little girl himself."

"And?" Guildenstern said irritably, considering he himself also somewhat fitted that description.

"Well, you see he wasn't so much of a problem until his pal provoked me!" At this Caliban swallowed his breath angrily "He started insulting me, and I couldn't just stand there and take that crap so I was going to fight him but that sneaky bastard managed to throw me onto the ground and even held a knife to my throat!"

Guildenstern snorted daintily "In conclusion you want someone to help you get back some face for yourself," he said with knowing intuition in his voice.

Caliban swallowed and didn't answer.

Guildenstern put the tips of his fingers together and looked thoughtfully at Caliban, which made the big man squirm and try to draw himself in to appear smaller. Finally Guildenstern asked "Knowing you Caliban, most likely more than half of your story was fake." Caliban retracted in even more. "But tell me something honestly: did you by any chance, mention our names to these people or anyone during this time?" Guildenstern asked slowly and deliberately.

"No, absolutely not!" Caliban insisted "I would never flaunt the names of our bosses!"

"Good." Guildenstern said shortly. He looked out the window beyond Caliban and said "It's peace times now and as members of upper society we should led the way to maintain the peace this city has sough for so long." A sneering smile suddenly drew upon the handsome man's face "It is our duty as law-abiding citizens then to punish those who seek to disturb the peace…especially if it's the peace we control."

Guildenstern looked back down on Caliban "Since we do not know the background of these two people, we should proceed carefully. It's best to use a clean and efficient method to teach ruffians their place."

"What do you have in mind Sir?" Caliban asked, a thing of excitement growing in his baritone voice.

Guildenstern stood up and picked up his ridding stick, slapping the rod into twice into his palm before something formulated in him mind. "Rosencrantz, do your big brother a favor and run an errant for me."

Rosencrantz slumped into his chair again "But why me? Can't you just ask one of the servants to do it?" he whined.

A stress mark popped over his brother's forehead but Guildenstern remained calm and said smoothly "This is an important task that I cannot entrust to anyone other than you. I think you will actually be very willing to perform this task, dear brother. I know you have always enjoyed going to the Black Well and seeing those delightful merchandise the shopkeeper has. Why not do your brother a favor and pick up an item for us while you are there this time? I will write you a note so you won't forget what I need."

Hearing this, Rosencrantz jumped to his feet, excited "You'll let me go to the Black Well! I have been dying to go check out the new stuff they got since the last time I went!"

"Good, but please remember to keep you actions…discrete." Guildenstern added.

As Rosencrantz left the room happily with his destination in mind, Guildenstern turned to Caliban and instructed "While Rosencrantz is gone I will have a little arrangement to make with some people. I have a way for you to get back some of you lost dignity…in a not so honorable but effective way." He smiled.

* * *

A little while later, Rosencrantz rides up to the front of a miserable looking shop near the boundary between the prosperous and decrepit neighborhoods of Elsinore.

There was a good reason why Rosencrantz found the shop so interesting while at the same time his brother found it so offending. The buildings here were brown and gray, alike in structure to their posh downtown counter part but the filth from the broken street and garbage heaps made anyone who passed by want to leave as soon as possible. The Black Well magic shop was an exact reflection of its environment, from a pool of stagnant water sitting in a tin washbasin underneath the rusting drainage pipes, to the black soot around the frame of its window. If anyone here were to recognize the wealthy and supposedly respectable merchant family Rosencrantz was born into, the scandals and rumors will take months to clear away. However, the fact that Guildenstern actually allowed his younger brother to visit the place meant that whatever he needed could not be purchased easily in the area where they lived; it also meant that, coming from the Black Well, it was bound to be something unpleasant.

But Rosencrantz was thinking about none of this as he arrived on a splendid chestnut stallion, he himself dressed in a planer version of his former outfit. He wrinkled his nose as the musty smell of a nearby compost heap drifted into his nostrils. Honestly, he thought to himself, if it weren't for the Black Well he would never come down here to this part of the town.

Pushing against the creaky door, Rosencrantz removed his hat and said, "It's me Mantua."

A wheezing voice came from the end of the small crowded and ill-lit shop. "Ah, welcome, welcome young Sir! I am so pleased to see you again!" Mantua the shopkeeper appeared from behind the back of the store. He was an old scruffy man who was so thin his frame matched the skeleton hanging in a corner of the store. The old shopkeeper wore a light black silk vest that was probably older than he was and the monocle on his right eye was hanging by a tarnished silver chain, linking it to his breast pocket. His hair had thinned out so completely on top that it was nearly bold with a half ring of remaining pepper gray hair crowning the back of his head.

The shop housed a variety of magical and non-magical items. It was notorious to its clients as the best place to buy materials for casting curses, summoning ghosts, and other spooky and disagreeable forms of magic. One shelve was partially filled with jars and bottles of preserved animal remains, some with their ghostly glassy eyes staring blankly out from the murky preservative. Another had herbs and plants that could led to a variety of disagreeable experiences for a person unfortunate or foolish enough to consume them. The rest of the store was devoted to amulets, books, and strange whatnots that gave the place a sense of stagnant age from the dust they have collected during their stay here.

"I came to see the new merchandise you said you would have in three months." Rosencrantz tossed his hat and it came to rest on top of the skull of the skeleton. "I also want something else from you" he reached into a pocket and handed Mantua a piece of folded paper.

The shop owner gingerly opened the paper slip and the wrinkled skin around his lips deepened as he smiled when he saw what was written on the paper. Quickly he rolled up the slip and tucked it away in his pocket "Just a moment, I will be right back."

Rosencrantz shrugged and left Mantua to find whatever was called for. Turning his attention else where, Rosencrantz inspected a giant book written in arcane language, a mortar with some crushed substance in it and saw some clear glass bottles containing clear liquids standing beside mortar. Curious, Rosencrantz picked up one of the bottles and was surprised to see that there wasn't a label of any sort on it.

"Sir, here is the potion you asked for, just made it this morning too." The old man's voice came from behind him and the shopkeeper's foot steps signaled his fast return to the storefront.

Surprised by the old man, Rosencrantz panicked a little and the bottle slipped from his fingers and he barely caught it. Rosencrantz had no time to put the bottle back so he dropped the bottle in his pocket and hoped the old man wouldn't notice. "Oh, uh yes sure." He reached over and hurriedly accepted the bottle the owner handed him without inspecting it and dropped it into his other pocket. Looking around, he distracted the owner from his missing ware by asking "About the new shipment you got…"

"Ah yes! You mentioned you wanted to see the new merchandise. Come with me!"

The two of them then went into the back of the shop, inspecting a series of unique though unsavory looking objects. The adventure ended more than an hour later, Rosencrantz felt reassured that the little bottle he had picked up inadvertently would not be noticed anytime soon by Mantua.

By the time Rosencrantz returned to his home, whistling happily, he headed straight to the drawing room. Knowing that his brother will want to see the item he demanded, Rosencrantz reached into his pocket but his breath caught when he felt both hands touch something. Taking his hands out slowly, he saw two nearly identical bottles, both without any identification. Worst was the fact that he had completely forgotten in which pocket he had put the potion Guildenstern wanted. Rosencrantz gulped and looked around in a panic.

"Rosencrantz, is that you in the hallway?" Guildenstern's voice asked.

Rosencrantz's heart nearly shot up into his throat. Thinking fast, Rosencrantz randomly choose one of the bottles and stuck the other one in a pot of plants, away from view and hoped he'd be able to dispose of it later.

"Co-coming!" he said and walked into the room.

Seeing the desired object in hand, Guildenstern walked up to welcome Rosencrantz "Ah, fabulous! Thank you, my dear brother." Guildenstern said, receiving the bottle with a wide smile.

"So…did you find out who those two guys are? Did Dad's spies come up with anything?" Rosencrantz asked, his eyes unconsciously darting back to the door and the hiding place beyond it.

"Agents, not spies Rosencrantz, we are not a group of filthy criminals," Guildenstern set the potion on the small table "However, I have to say, Father's information network is truly impressive, even more so since he left this side of the business in our hands." He grinned proudly, "apparently one of our perpetrator is a sailor and the other one is his friend who just returned to Elsinore. Shouldn't be any trouble in dealing with them."

"And just what do you plan to do with them?" Rosencrantz asked off handedly.

Guildenstern's smile widened and ran his index finger over the top of the glass bottle "Trap the rats then let the cats have at them of course."

* * *

The sun was beginning to set in Elsinore and late afternoon was approaching. The cream colored houses turned into shades of butter and shadows drew long and thin across the street and the sidewalks. Horatio in lead, walked into a smallish tavern while Helios looked around apprehensively from behind him.

"Yo Master! Give me the usual!" Horatio shouted to the bartender who smiled thought his thick mustache and nodded.

Obviously this was not a new experience for Horatio who sat down by the bar and made himself feel at home. Helios on the other hand, sat down only after scanning the whole place over with his eyes; still not sure he wanted to be here. The thing was he had never been in a bar or a tavern before and the things he knows about places like these aren't all that pretty.

"Uh, Horatio, are you sure it's okay for us to be here?" he asked tentatively.

Horatio laughed "Of course it is, why wouldn't it be?"

"Well…aren't you-aren't we, under age?"

Horatio blinked, completely baffled "Under age? What are you talking about?"

Helios sighed resignedly; obviously this country, unlike Japan, doesn't have a legal drinking age. "Never mind…" he said under his breath.

The bartender walked up and put a big mug of a beer-like liquid in front of Horatio, then turned and looked at Helios "What about your friend there Hori?"

"Just a cup of water, thank you," Helios quickly replied.

Horatio frowned at him, looking offended. "Oh come on, we came all the way here already, you should at least give it a try! The brew here is famous in Elsinore."

Ardently, Helios refused. "No, just water will be fine."

Horatio looked at Helios with a pout on his lips "You know, life's boring if you don't try something new once in a while"

"Life is also simpler this way." Helios talked back.

Horatio sighed and rolled his eyes dramatically, "Gods, you're more like Laertes than I thought! I should take you out of that place more often or else you'll become just like him! Fine, I guess I'll just help myself then." He raised his mug and took a long quaff and put it down almost half empty "Ah, now that's life!" This only made Helios feel even more awkward as he lowered his head and looked away.

"Hori, long time no see!" a loud voice said from the back of the tavern. A group of men were waving at him, the three of them sitting around a table.

Horatio grinned back and jumped off his seat to join them. "Hey, Francisco, Barnardo, Marcellus! I haven't seen you guys in ages!"

"Where have you been buddy, we've hardly seen you in almost a year's time," said the one named Marcellus.

"I've been busy lately, I was wondering what you guys were up to as well," Horatio looked at the three strangers with fondness.

"Ah, come and have a drink with us, and tell us about your new friend here," said Francisco.

Horatio suddenly smiled cryptically as a thought popped into his head. He grabbed Helios and pushed him in front of him and said, "This here is my good friend Cesario, he's visiting Elsinore." His smile grew into a wide sly grin. "I was just mentioning some of the good stuff they have here and since it's been so long since we got together," Horatio stepped back dramatically to get everyone's attention "I'm going to buy a round everybody here!"

"What? Horatio-!" But before Helios could even protest, the three men cheered in unison.

Horatio went to the bar and ordered a whole round for the group and the little tavern suddenly lived up as people from other tables noticed them and made their way over to talk. Conversations got started as liquids and words flowed. People who probably didn't know each other began talking to each other and soon struck up quick friendly chatters. Helios however, was just plain confused by this strange turn of events Horatio initiated and was trying to keep himself out of all of this by not saying a word.

"Hey, don't be shy there," said a stranger holding a mug, his broad face rather red from the alcohol. He put a shot glass of some unidentifiable reddish brown liquid on a table in front of him.

"I'm fine…" Helios said in a small voice.

"Aww, don't be a downer! Come on, give it a try!" A man who smelled faintly more like the docks than booze said heartily and gave a meaty slap to the extremely self-conscious young man's back.

Helios sighed tiredly inside. It seemed there was no way he was going to get himself out of this situation and the pressure from this group of jolly and slightly tipsy people and Horatio was no where in sight. He wanted to just excuse himself from the situation but a group of expectant tavern goers have formed a ring around him and he was basically trapped. Helios hated feeling trapped and it seemed the only way for him to get out was to do as they suggested. If he could this over with quickly then the sooner he can find Horatio and leave. With this slightly reassuring thought in mind, he steadied himself and gulped down the liquor, coughing twice as a sting went down his throat with the liquid.

A cheer roared and tavern goers clapped.

"He's got the look of a boy who can hold his stuff!" roared the man with the red face mirthfully.

Barnardo took out a small purse of money and dropped it on the table. "Hey I'm betting five silver liras that our friend Cesario here can drink three more shots!"

"Wait a second, I-" the unwitting center of attention tried to protest but his voice was flooded out as others pitched in.

"Only five! I'm betting a gold lira that he can drink five shots!"

"Nine shots I say!"

"No, fifteen! Fifteen!"

Coins began pilling up on the table while in the back of the commotion, Horatio was trying not to laugh too hard as his poor companion looked on in disbelief as the bartender brought out more and more shot glasses were put in front of him. With no way out the poor victim of this most unwanted wager could do nothing but resign to his fate. Surprisingly to him, the more he drank the easier it went down and Helios didn't feel worst for the matter although his head was feeling decisively heavier by the tenth ahot. By then the whole room would cheer as he cleared one small glass after another. People were both amazed and amused by the fact that this lanky young man can drink more of the strong stuff than any of them can hold in one night, let alone one after the other.

As the event drew on the last bet was a small fortune of ten gold liras, stacked and counted on the idea that the newcomer could go up to twenty two glass, three more than the best record anyone has ever attempted in that particular tavern. When the last shot glass came away drained of its content, the crowd roared mightily and people congratulated the participant with warm pats on the shoulder. As the afternoon wound down to an ended, some of the crowd began to disperse, waving and grinning to each other as they left, going home to tell their wife or buddies about the interesting event that went on. Horatio waved to them as they left, having collected the prize money and feeling utterly fabulous with his ingenious idea of starting this whole thing. It was when he bid farewell to the last of the crowd that he noticed the sun had already disappeared from the sky.

"Uh crap, I forgot the time! Got to get back before the gates closes!" He turned around and looked at his companion. To Horatio's initial amazement when he turned his eyes to examine Helios, other than a hint of red in his cheeks, he seemed fine after drinking all that. Horatio started walking towards him, smiling. "See, I told you it wouldn't be that bad, you even surprised me. Who knew you had that trick up your sleeve!"

He crossed over to where Helios sat and looked at the old timepiece in the parlor. "Anyways, we should be heading back before the gates close and we get locked out of the palace," he said and began to walk away when Helios' voice stopped him.

"Horatio…" Helios said in an odd voice as he pushed the chair back and stood up.

Horatio looked back expectedly, "What?"

"I…don't feel quite right…" with that his head tilted back and his body started falling backwards towards the floor.

Horatio took a sharp breath and rushed forward to catch him before Helios' head landed on the ground. Horatio took a deep breath of relief but sweat dropped when he saw that Helios had literately passed out in his arms. "Damn, I should've known he was wouldn't be able to handle it…" The red head muttered under his breath as he hauled Helios' limp form over his shoulder. _At this rate we won't be able to make it back on time today_, Horatio thought furiously to himself. _Guess I don't have a choice but to stay out over night and get back there as early as possible the next morning…and pray that Laertes won't be so pissed off he'll take my head off and put it on a stake…_Horatio thought gloomily to himself.

"Hey Master," Horatio yelled at the proprietor, "can you put my pal and I up for the night?"

The bartender chuckled, "Sure thing. The first room in the hall is free and ready, although I have to say, from what I see your friend there is going to have a major hangover tomorrow morning. I'll make you a hangover remedy, have him drink it tonight and at worst he'll wake up with a headache tomorrow. I'll also have some food ready, since you haven't ate yet."

"Thanks, I owe you one." Horatio smiled a weary smile as he began laboriously dragging his utterly stoned royal companion up the wooden stairs to the guestrooms. This wasn't a easy task considering the unconscious figure he was moving wasn't really helpful in going upstairs, and Horatio had to stop to tighten his grip a few times around Helios' waist so he won't slip. By the time he finally got up stairs, he walked into the empty room, whose door was thankfully open and carefully placed his friend down on the bed.

The young Captain wiped his sweaty forehead and shook his head while he removed Helios' coat. "I swear…and I thought it was a good idea for you to loosen up a little; who knew my plan totally back fires on me!" Helios moaned and his eyes reopened for a little while before closing again. "Guess we're just gonna have to let you rest a bit tonight," Horatio said benignly as he slipped the sleeves of the coat off when Helios' right arm slipped off the side of the bed. As Horatio knelt down and reached towards Helios' wrist he noticed for the first time the silver chain wounded around it. Picking up Helios' hand, Horatio saw the moon-shaped stone and pink star crystal pendent glittering faintly under the fading sunlight coming in through the room's window.

Horatio's violet eyes shot open and he quickly looked at the figure beside him as if he had suddenly realized something. This moment of shock quickly subsided however as Horatio gently put Helios' hand back on the mat. Still, whatever he thought made Horatio pause for a moment as he stood up. His expression was passive but his eyebrows were frowning slightly, like something that secretly troubled him was being thought over in his mind. Closing his eyes to clear his thoughts, Horatio sighed and picked up the folded blanket to cover his friend with.

"Maiden…"

Horatio looked up when he heard the mumbled word. Helios was still out cold but the look of peace on his face made Horatio wonder about the connections between the pendent and this mysterious personage he murmured in his sleep. Shaking his head, Horatio walked away and decided to get the remedy the tavern owner mentioned plus some food for them both. But before he left the room he gave one last thoughtful glance at his sleeping liege before excusing his thoughts from what he just heard.

While this was taking place upstairs, a stranger stepped into the small establishment and sat down by the bar in front of the bartender. "Give me a straight shot of your strongest" he said surly.

The owner looked up from the hangover cure he was making and nodded mutely, knowing characters of this kind were better left alone and served quickly. He walked to the far corner of the bar to pick up the glassware for the new guest when Horatio's voice shouted down the staircase. "Yo Master, is the remedy ready yet?"

"Almost, by the way I've poured some drinks for you as well, Hori." the bartender shouted back as he attended to the needs of the customer, his moustache moving rather comically with his lips as he spoke.

Hearing this the man who just came in reached into his pocket and pulled out the small glass bottle full of unknown liquid. Quickly he opened the top and poured the content of the bottle into the two cups the proprietor had set out. As Horatio came down the stairs the man slipped the bottle back into his pocket and pretended like nothing had happened.

Seeing the small platter of food, with sandwiches made out of fresh bread, crisp vegetables and thick slices of ham, Horatio almost started to drool. "Wow! Looks delicious!"

"Glad to hear that!" The bartender smiled from the compliment and placed the glass of strong spirits down for his silent guest by the counter. Horatio's eyes flared to the stranger for a second, but dismissed him quickly as he picked up the tray and headed back upstairs.

"Thanks, I'll see you later!" he said before disappearing up the stairs.

Behind him the stranger grinned maliciously as he sipped from his glass.

Once upstairs again, Horatio nudged open the door with his shoulder and found Helios sitting up in the bed, looking rather ill and dazed.

"You surprised me again. I thought you were going to be out cold for at least a day." Horatio said honestly as he set the food and drinks down on the small table in the middle of the room. "You want some food? It might help you feel a bit better," he suggested.

Helios, with his eyes half open, looked at Horatio drowsily and hiccuped. "No thank you…I feel terrible… dizzy too." He groaned and lowered his head into his arms.

Horatio picked up the tall glass of thick yellow/orange looking fluid that was suppose to be the hangover cure and handed it to Helios. "Here, drink this, this will make you feel better tomorrow morning."

Helios took the glass and made a face when he brought it near his nose. Horatio laughed at his expression and advised, "Just chug it in one go and hold your breath."

Helios looked reluctantly at the stuff but finally decided that if he wants to stop his head from feeling like someone's pounding on it with a hammer tomorrow morning he doesn't have much of a choice. Steadying his head as much as he could, he took a deep breath and downed the concoction but then had to work to keep his stomach from throwing it all back up again.

Horatio gingerly took the glass out of his hand and didn't step away until he was sure he wouldn't throw up on him or else have some other horrible reaction to the remedy. "Now, just lie down and go to sleep, I'll wake you up tomorrow morning," he instructed and began to turn away when Helios called his name.

"Horatio…"

"What?"

Curling his arms around his knees as he sat on the bed, Helios gave Horatio a drowsy but evidently worried look. "…Won't you…get in trouble for this? I think we should go back today, I can manage."

Hearing this, Horatio smiled softly as he put the glass down on the table. "Don't worry, I'm always in a heap load of trouble with Laertes anyway. Besides, from experience I can tell you right now that you are in no condition to move around; not to mention the gate to the palace are closed by now anyways."

Helios didn't say anything after this except to rest his chin on the top of his covered knees; his face still quite flush and hot. Seeing this Horatio came back around and sat down on the bed beside Helios, putting his hand on the pale haired youth's shoulder. "I appreciate you worrying about me, but I will take responsibility for getting you into this whole thing in the first place, so don't worry yourself. That also means I owe you an apology," he said with a rueful smile. "I'm sorry."

Helios smiled back faintly and nodded. "I accept."

Horatio closed his eye and lightly patted him on the back. "Go to sleep, we're gonna have to get up real early tomorrow and I need the rest of the evening to think of some good excuses to use on Laertes." He reopened his eyes and winked.

Helios sighed and lowered himself back under the blankets. Horatio watched him silently for a while longer until he was quite sure he was asleep. Looking outside, the night sky was a shade of pinkish violet, signaling that rain was on its way. The weather did not please him since the rain will make traveling more difficult tomorrow; at least he had the knowledge they didn't have to travel too much to get home.

After polishing off the sandwich and taking a nice long drink, Horatio threw his jacket onto a chair and flopped down on the other bed in the room. A slight itchy feeling inside made him shift himself around a bit but it quickly disappeared. Having walked around talking all-day and taking on a thug, Horatio was expectedly tired and he soon drifted off to sleep, never dreaming that things will only get more tiresome for him and his companion the next day.

* * *

The night seemed to have passed quickly for as Helios woke up he felt like he had been knocked out by a cannon ball and was now just coming around after blacking out. The first rays of sun were yet to make themselves known but heavy clouds have already traveled in over the city and rain had begun falling some times during the night. Helios' eyes opened to the rain as he slowly pushed himself up from the bed.

As soon as his head was upright it started throbbing like someone was grinding millstones in his temples. If this was what Horatio meant by a remedy, he would seriously have to reconsider the next time the Captain gives him something to "make him feel better".

With a soft groan, Helios removed the blanket, sat up and rubbed the bridge between his eyes. When he took his hand away however, he noticed his right hand seemed different somehow. First off it looked smaller and second his fingers had become slightly longer and more slender. Confused, he lowered his hand slowly when he felt his forearm touching his chest, but it didn't quite feel right down there.

Looking down, the color literately flew off Helios face. Two round forms on his chest have swelled up beneath his shirt and his waist had become narrower. Leaping off the bed, he sought out the small mirror on the back of the door and to his amazement and horror what his body confirmed was reflected on his face. His face was more rounded and his amber eyes were bigger with fluttering long eyelashes.

It was then that it hit him: he had turned into a she.

"…Mmm, what's going on? Helios, are you up already?" Horatio's muffled groaning came from under his blanket. Helios stared speechless when a brown Yorkshire terrier poked its sleepy little head out from the foot of the blankets, a small tuff of its hair pulled back into a tassel with Horatio's ribbon. The dog's eyes grew big when it saw the person standing in front of it and both of them screamed at the same time.

A/N Well, after that last bit I think you will either hate me or else will be very amused by all this. Turning Helios into a girl was something my evil genius has been pondering about for a long time now and I know many of you probably think I'm a crazy fangirl right now to do this to him. The next chapter is going to be crazier and more action packed. You may think I'm crazy but writing this is fun! (Evil laughter ringing in the background)


	6. A Series of Haphazard Events Part 2

**Chapter 4 "A Series of Haphazard Events" part 2**

Laertes frowned as he looked at the small paper slip on his desk. He had found the note the day before, after he came back from a long and stressful meeting with men three to four times his own age. When he walked in and found the slip of paper, needless to say he was not pleased. Honestly, the last thing he needed apart from a ton of paperwork, inspections, tours and other work was to have Horatio decide he wanted to go wonder around the city and he dragged the king along with him no less, Laertes grumbled to himself.

The corner of Laertes' lips curved downwards as he stood agitatedly, unable to concentrate on any of the tasks pilled up on his desk. He had hoped to give the problematic Captain a good scolding when he returned but when he and Helios did not show up by the time the gates to the palace closed, Laertes was beginning to have serious concerns. Horatio maybe an unconcerned slacker but he wasn't someone who didn't know his boundaries. If it had just been him Laertes wouldn't be this worried but the problem was Helios was missing as well. Last night he had to tell the servants that their master had wanted to retire early but that can't work for long since suspicions run easily in the palace and rumors can spark from the smallest oddity.

Looking out the window at the rain as it tapped against the glass, Laertes' frown deepened "What's keeping them?"

A slight knock came from the door and made Laertes look up sharply "Who is it?"

"Laertes, may I come in?" Ophelia's soft voice asked from behind the thick door.

"Yes, come in please."

Ophelia stepped in, closing the door softly behind her. She looked at her brother with her pale blue eyes, her hands cupped in front of her. Smiling she said, "Have you seen Horatio? His men asked me about him since he didn't come to morning training."

Laertes looked at his sister and after a moment of thought, walked back to his desk and handed her the paper. Ophelia looked puzzled by the note but after she read it through, she turned understandingly at her brother "So he slipped out again. Is it for that event coming up?" She said with a wee smile.

Unexpectedly to her, Laertes sighed heavily. "Probably, but the problem is he took the king with him."

Ophelia's eyes blinked a few times before she said, "He did? But I asked the manservant and he said Helios-sama is still asleep."

Laertes groaned and sat down in his chair. He took off his spectacles and massaged the ridge of his nose "I told the servants last night he had retired early. The truth was that neither he nor Horatio come back last night and I have no idea as to the why."

Ophelia considered this carefully. "Could something have…impeded their return, do you think?" she asked, her eyebrows beginning to pull together.

"Most likely, Horatio may be an idiot but I think he's tactful enough to know that he should be back within the same day, especially if Helios-sama is with him."

Surprisingly, Ophelia smiled and relaxed her shoulders "I believe they will be all right. I am sure they will come back soon."

Laertes raised an eyebrow at this "You are not worried that he might…?" his sentenced lingered.

Ophelia looked out the window Laertes had been standing in front of just a moment ago "Helios-sama is with Horatio this time, and since Horatio is with him then I believe everything will be just fine. I know Horatio will do whatever it takes to protect Helios-sama from harm."

"That's what I'm worried about…" Laertes said under his breath as he straightened himself in his wide chair "If the two of them do not show up by the end of today, I will be forced to inform the Royal Assembly and order a search. I will try to keep it as discrete as possible but this must not slip into the public's knowledge or else Parliament is going to have a heyday." He sighed again and picked up a fountain pen before returning to his work.

"I'm sure they will be all right." Ophelia repeated "Perhaps it was just a small problem that delayed them."

* * *

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" 

Both Helios and Horatio screamed and jumped away from each other as they said to each other in disbelief.

"YOU'RE A GIRL!"

"And you're a dog!"

Horatio looked around and its little white eyes almost popped out of its sockets when it saw what its body had become. It ran around in a panicked circle on the bed, "What the hell happened to me!".

"I don't know! I woke up and we were like this!" Helios said as he sat on the floor in front of the bed, not sure if he (well, she…) should scream, blush, cry or do all of the above as she looked at her altered body.

Horatio the dog jumped off the bed and walked around, trying to steady himself from the shock. "Okay, okay…let's think clearly now…this is obviously caused by a curse or something of that sort. When did someone have an opportunity to put a spell on us or feed us a potion since yesterday?"

Helios, who had wrapped her arms around her torso, thought franticly "I just remember you coming in with that remedy last night and…"

"That's it!" Horatio barked; literately "But why would Master do this to us? I've known him for years!" Horatio waved its tail back and forth. "Unless…" its tail wagged faster as it tried to jog its memory "There was a stranger who was sitting by the bar when I came down; he could've been the one who put something in our drinks when Master wasn't looking!"

"But why?" Helios asked, trying to think while also trying to ignore her new anatomy when she froze "Could it be that it was that man you fought yesterday? Could he have something to do with this?"

"Maybe, but I don't see how he could-" a small noise from the door stopped Horatio in mid-sentence. The noise was from the lock on the door, and it sounded like someone was opening it with a key

"What do we do? The people from the inn will panic if they finds us like this," Helios asked

"No…if Master wanted to check on us he'd knock first…" It was then that Horatio realized something "Quick, hide!" it shouted.

Two seconds later five burly men rushed into the room, two of them holding poles and clubs. One of the men was Caliban and he pushed himself to the front of the group to survey the room "Damn, they're not here!"

"I don't get it, I put the potion in myself and the glasses are empty." said one of the henchmen, apparently the one Horatio had seen the day before

Another man's spoke up jarringly, "Caliban, this better not be some wild goose chase you're starting. All of us came here because the Boss said we're to beat some sense into the two young imbeciles, well where are they now?"

Caliban took in a harsh breath and glared at the speaker. "Do you dare doubt what the Boss told us? Those little bastards have to be here if the Boss said they're here!"

One of the men walked across the room, unaware that two pairs of eyes were watching his footsteps nervously from under the bed. The man picked up Horatio's coat and tossed it to Caliban "Caliban's right. They've left their stuff behind." He said in a raspy voice "The potion is suppose to leave them paralyzed but it might have taken a while to take its affect. If they left right after they drank it they may have fallen somewhere close by."

"Shit!" Caliban cursed and threw the clothes to the ground. "We went to all the trouble of drugging the people here with sleeping gas and buying off the patrols and I still can't get my hands on 'em!" He wheeled around and kept on cursing while one of his partners took over and spoke "Our Bosses ordered us to find them and we're gonna carry out that order. We'll fan out and look for them. One of you will stay outside and keep an eye out if they come back. If they drank the potion then they must have fallen somewhere around here, but remember to be careful! Now come on!"

Amongst indignant grunts from Caliban's thugs, the group slowly filed out of the room. Only after their footsteps disappeared down the stairs did Helios and Horatio crawl back out from under the bed.

"That was close!" Horatio breathed a sigh of relief as its paws pattered against the floor.

"We can't stay here, they'll be back when they don't find us. I don't want the owner and other innocent people to get involved in this." Helios said ardently.

"You have a point, we have to find a way to get out of here but the main problem is what then? There's no way we can get back into the palace like this." Horatio paced. It thought about this issue as Helios put on her jacket. "I have an idea, though I don't know how much of a good idea it'll be." Horatio looked at her with his round eyes as it explained "Since they managed to find us here I would think Caliban and his goons must have spies in this area who are working for him or the Boss they mentioned. In which case it means we're in trouble if we stay anywhere near here."

"So you think we should go and hide where they can't find us then?" Helios said tentatively "How do we know they don't have spies all over the city?"

"We don't, but it's a risk we'll have to take right now." Horatio walked to the coat that had been thrown onto the ground and rooted out the purse and his own parcel. Helios looked inquisitively at the parcel but didn't ask any questions as she picked up them up and tucked them away. "We have enough money to last us a few days since we have no idea when this potion will wear off. Though from the sounds of it whatever it was didn't have the desired effect on the two of us."

Helios nodded, looking slightly awkward in her clothes, which were not designed to fit a female figure; even a petite one at that. "So where should we go then?" she asked, carefully looking out side the closed window to see if anyone was out on the street. But at this early hour the streets saw very few pedestrians and since the tavern was nowhere near the busy center of the city, there was no movement out on the street. The rain was heavy and Helios was glad that this deterred some of the earl raisers from coming out this morning.

Horatio pondered for a moment before its tail started wagging again "I know! The lower city! It's the easiest place to mix into here in Elsinore, we just have to get outside this place undetected and make our way there and if we can, try to get the curse off of ourselves."

With their plans made, the next step was to get out the tavern. Since there was a man stationed downstairs near the front door, the backdoor of the inn was behind the bar but that would require them to go past the guard again. Because neither of them were strong enough to take out the armed goon in their present state, the two had to think of another exit and the only option left was the window of their room, which was thankfully on the side of the building, away from the street. Peeping out, Helios saw a small pile of old wooden crates pilled up a few feet away from the molding that divided the top and bottom floors, leading into an alley that they could escape through.

Helios opened the window slowly and as noiselessly as she could then looked outside again, feeling fat drops of rain falling on the back of the hands holding the windows open. The only sounds were that of the rain hitting the pitched roof and water droplets splashing against the ground. For now the coast was clear.

"There's no one outside right now, I'll hold you." She reached out her hand to Horatio who whined and paused.

"I can manage, I'm small enough." The puppy said.

Helios sighed; feeling uncharacteristically annoyed with her friend's stubbornness at this crucial moment. "The sill is too narrow and it's raining, you might fall on four legs."

Grudgingly, Horatio the terrier stepped beside the young woman and allowed itself to be picked up. Wrapping her arm around the canine, Helios stepped out carefully with one foot onto the window's edge and inched towards the wooden molding. The molding was about five inches wide and rounded at the edge so Helios had to glue herself to the wall to avoid slipping from the water-slicked strip of wood. She could hear Horatio hold its breath and she tried not to look down but that was almost impossible. The three feet of distance between the window and the crates seemed like miles and sweat was forming fast around her face, back, and palms. Helios could feel her heart quickening and her senses squirmed in the awkward clothes she wore. The distraction almost caused her to loose her concentration on the sill when her right foot almost slipped off the molding and drew a small squeal from her and a whimper from her companion.

"That was close…" Helios whispered, her chest heaving as she swallowed a breath of air. Scooting a little further her foot was finally in reach of the crates. She carefully tested the crate, just to make sure it's not rotted through and will cause them to fall through. Once she knew they were sound, Helios stepped onto the top box and lowered Horatio. Horatio daintily stepped down to the ground level and watched as Helios made her way down while the rain continued to pour on the coastal city. Once her foot touched the ground, Helios took a deep breath and steadied herself. "Let's go." Horatio nodded with its snout and began to walk away. Helios followed but didn't notice that a corner of her coat had caught on a splinter on the crate sitting at the corner of the pile.

A crashing avalanche followed as the corner stone crate was pulled loose and caused the ones at the very top to tumble down. Helios cringed at the noise but gasped when she saw the eye of the door guard meeting her own.

"What the…?" He looked puzzled at the girl and dog duo, since obviously these were not the description they had been given of their target. But when he saw the gray coat Helios was wearing, the man decided that it would be a good idea to catch her just in case.

"Hey!" he shouted and began walking towards them. Helios didn't think twice as she grabbed Horatio off the ground, turned, and ran as fast as her lithe body could carry her.

The man sprinted after them, trudging through the narrow alleyway. Helios ran but glanced back once and saw that her pursuer was tight on her tail and catching up fast. Abruptly the alley ended and Helios looked from side to side franticly as she tried to decide which way to take.

"Watch out!" Horatio shouted. Helios snapped her neck to the right and saw that one of the other thugs was coming their way. She sucked in a sharp breath and dashed in the opposite way.

"What the hell is-!" the man coming from the right complained but his question got cut short when his buddy ran straight into him and both man ended up in a tangled heap. Horatio grinned when he saw this happen. Helios kept running, panting, as her lungs demanded more air. By now the rain had turned the dirt on the street into mud and despite the paved stones the heavy down pour was drenching the girl and the dog and brown mud had caked onto her pants.

"I think we've lost them!" Horatio barked happily after a few more minutes of running.

"Really?" Helios slowed down a little to look back, water dripping off the ends of her wet hair. But just as she did so the two of them came to an intersection and the forms of three other of Caliban's gang appeared.

"Found ya!" A tall, frisky thug grinned with a mouthful of crooked golden teeth as he and his buddies dashed at Helios. Helios groaned and turned and ran in the other direction. She turned blindly into an adjacent alley and dashed down the brown muddy back street.

"Turn left!" Horatio shouted.

Helios managed to huff out a breathless "What!"

"I said turn left! That's the direction to the lower city!"

Helios didn't reply except to follow her friend's instructions.

Houses passed by and the sky did not grow any lighter. Helios squinted her eyes to try and keep the rain from blinding her. _This is ridiculous!_ She thought to herself. _It would be easier for us to get to safety if I transformed into Pegasus!_ With that in mind she tried to focus her mind on her ulterior form. But when white feathers failed to swim around her, Helios' concentration on where she was going had slipped and she stumbled when she ran across a large puddle. She had to rush her right hand forward and prop herself up again while her brain screamed for her to keep going. It seemed the potion had not only affected her body but her abilities as well and Helios felt another part of her mental security about their situation crumble away.

By now the two of them have reached the slums. Even in this depressing section of the city the rain has forced people to stay inside their decrepit and ramshackle homes. After running for as long as her legs permitted her, Helios finally stopped when she ducked into an alley and Horatio slipped from her arm. It poked its head out from around the corner but quickly retreated back when it saw the gang walking down the street, preceding slowly but carefully, looking into alleyways and doorways for signs of their quarry.

"Damn, I didn't expect them to be able to follow us all the way here!" Horatio's tail drooped.

Helios sighed and leaned her head against the wall, her stomach heaving. With no place to run and an exhausted body, she has no idea about what to do next.

A sudden tug on her coat sleeve made Helios shoot her head down. To her surprise she saw a young boy, dressed in an old oilcloth raincoat that was patched at the corners. The boy had raised his finger to his lips for her to remain quiet. Confused by the appearance of this absolute stranger, Helios nevertheless complied.

Seeing this, the boy turned and quickly began jogging down the alley, followed by Helios and Horatio who didn't have time to ask questions. The boy opened a back door at the end of the narrow street and ushered them in. closing the door silently just as Caliban and his crew passed by the alley.

Horatio and Helios listened with their ears to the door. After five minutes and no one tried to kick down the door, the two of them breathed a sigh of relief for the first time that day. It wasn't until then that they registered their surrounding.

The house they were in was a small two story building made largely out of wood, dark and old but with a sense of homeliness embedded in them. An old grandfather clock stood beside them, its arm swing rhythmically back and forth behind the slightly cracked wood and glass panel. Almost all of the wall space that remained was used by shelve after shelve of books, their many covers forming an earth toned kaleidoscope of colors on the wall. There was no proper living room in this place except for a small table and a chair hidden behind an inconspicuous corner of the store with buttermilk colored curtain acting as the divide. From where they stood they could see a fireplace, with a small fire burning calmly against the wall of the small sitting area. A blue and white porcelain vase had been placed on the covered table, containing a small pot of violets to provide a charming ascent to the room. There were books scattered in places, not enough to be messy but enough for a person to tell that at least one person living here must be an avid reader.

"You two should be safe now, those guys won't know you're here. But why were those people after you any ways?"

The young boy, now no longer wearing his raincoat, asked unabashedly as he came back into the open room. This gave Helios an opportunity to look at the helpful stranger. The boy was about ten years old and was crowned with smooth black-blue hair, complimented by clear and intelligent gray eyes. He wore a white rough cotton shirt underneath a short sleeve pale-olive jacket, buttoned by a small copper button near the collar. A belt secured a baggy pair of bark colored pants that drooped into layers of deep folds above his worn leather shoes.

The boy was studying Helios as well and after he had quickly ran his eyes over her, he giggled "Well, never find that. I guess it's kind of obvious why a group of thugs would be out stalking around here when there's an unaccompanied girl walking around…" the boy's words dropped off when his eyebrows frowned together and he looked more intensely at Helios and Horatio.

Helios edged back a fraction as the boy stared hard at them before meeting Helios' eyes. "Wait a minute…you two are under a curse."

This flat statement froze the air in Helios' and Horatio's lungs. "How…how did you know?" Helios said carefully.

The boy's eyes fell away and he seemed embarrassed all of a sudden and said "I've been studying magic for a while now and I can do some simple spells. See," He looked at the vase on the table "_Dextrorsus!_"

The vase moved an inch to the right. The boy looked back and smiled awkwardly "I still need to work on that…Any ways, about this curse," his eyes became serious again "All curses, spells have an aura associated with it. Whether a person can detect such an aura depends on two things. One, the experience of the person and two, the strength of the spell." He looks up at Helios again "I'm no expert and this spell is strong but the good news is that it wasn't strong enough for me to have noticed it right when I saw you."

Helios and Horatio nodded silently. Now that the boy was privy of their situation they felt a bit more relaxed but then the nagging question came up again in Helios' mind: now what? She sighed inwardly and pondered. Caliban and his men were probably still outside and leaving would increase their chance of running into them again. Also, thought the boy looked young, he had shown that he did possess some knowledge that could be helpful to them right now. The weight seemed to be in favor of staying here and asking the boy for help, but a part of Helios wasn't comfortable with that. This would mean she would have to run the risk of revealing their identity. But if she could give him the information he needed without giving away too much of anything else then everything should be all right. Besides, it wasn't as if they had much of a choice anyway. They were wet, miserable, confused, and for Helios the worst of it all was being stuck in a body that made her afraid to look down at her own chest.

"Do you think you can help us?"

The boy appeared surprised by this request but his eyes brightened up "Of course! I mean, although I'm just an amateur I'll try to do what I can."

"You promise not to tell anyone about us and this curse?"

"I promise!"

Helios took a sigh of relief and looked at Horatio. Horatio looked up but didn't protest in anyway so Helios began to explain their situation. "We're not too sure what exactly the spell is but when we woke up this morning, my friend and I found ourselves this way."

Horatio glanced at Helios then at the boy before finally opening his mouth to speak "We had a bit of a run in with some bad people yesterday and my guess is that they somehow spiked our drinks, probably with a potion of some sort. That's how I got turned into a dog and my friend ended up as a girl."

Helios nodded and stared at the floor while her cheeks flushed.

With this handful of information, the ten year-old magician nodded "I see…"

The pair looked at each other while the boy brought his hand to his chin and appeared thoughtful. The ends of his eyebrows moved as he turned thoughts over in his head. "Mmm…this won't be easy since there's not much to go on. But at least we have the symptoms." He looked down at Horatio "I know you two must feel weird, stuck as you are right now but leave it to me, I'll find something to help you."

Horatio looked dubiously at the boy since it couldn't help but feel the kid was getting in on over his head. But that doubtful expression was hardly easily expressed on a dog's face. Helios however, realized another concern "But if those people were the ones responsible for this then we could very well be getting you in trouble with us" Her shoulders slacked as she suddenly felt guilty for not realizing this fact sooner and the thought of leaving came up again.

The boy waved it off with a motion of his hand "Don't worry," he said. "This is a book store my sister owns and in this part of town hardly anyone comes in. It's quiet and there are a lot of books here that I can dig through to look for clues. You'll be safe."

He walks away from the door they've been standing by and stopped in the small living room to organize the table. "My sister always said people should help each other and I agree with her." He paused for a moment "It's nice to be useful once in a while to other people."

After moving some books off of one of the chairs, he turned back to Helios and Horatio "Here, sit down and rest for a bit, you've been standing all that time and must be tired." At this time he blinked and a bright smile spread over his young face "Ah, I forgot to introduce myself! My name is Ariel, please to meet you! What are your names?"

Horatio hopped onto the seat of one of the chairs and answered before Helios could manage a word. "I'm Hori, this here is Cesario." It pointed with a cock of its small furry head.

Ariel smiled widely and reached out a smallish hand to her, which Helios took and shook with a faint guilty smile on her face.

"Nice to meet you!"

"…You too Ariel."

The formalities done with, Ariel stacked the pile he had removed from the sitting area to the storefront while he continued with his inquiry. "About your curse, is there anything you guys can tell me about it?"

Horatio thought about it and looked at Helios who shook her head "That's about all we know, unfortunately."

Ariel came back and crossed his arms "I'll do what I can then, but I would need your help to look through the materials-"

A metallic ring from the front door made Ariel stop and Helios almost jumped from her seat, not knowing what to expect. Standing at the door was a young woman wearing a thick woolen cloak. She set a basket half filled with minor grocery items on the planked wooden floor and peeled back her hood. Her teal colored hair was trimmed neatly at the neck and she wore a white headband that was nearly covered at the ends by her hair. She wore an apple green dress with a white Peter Pan collar. Her blueberry-shaded eyes focused on the pale haired stranger and smiled at her. "Are you looking for something Miss?"

Helios quickly shook her head and Ariel spoke for her "I found her resting in the alley behind the store Onee-chan." The sister's smile faded somewhat and the muscles around her eyebrows tightened. "But she's not a bad person and she seemed to be in trouble so I invited her in." Ariel quickly added, "She had-"

A growl from Horatio made Ariel stop and reconstruct what he was about to say "uh-had gotten lost and was wondering around here."

"I see…what's your name dear?" The woman took off her cloak, putting it on a coat rack and walked to Helios, her gray sapphire eyes now showed concern as she looked over Helios and her dirtied clothes.

"Her name is…is…" Ariel's eyes leaped around the room and came to rest on the small flowering plant sitting on the table. "Violet-no, it's Viola!" he smiled brightly, as if he had successfully remembered an uncommon name rather than the fact that he came up with in two seconds time. He stepped to the older girl's side and held her hand, facing Helios "And she's my sister, Miranda; she's the owner of this book store."

"Please to meet you Viola-san," Miranda said and her lips curled up in a warm smile.

"To you as well," Helios said in a weak voice which Miranda noticed.

"You don't sound too good, are you not feeling well?" She put her hand on Helios' shoulder and pulled it away when she felt moisture on her palm. "My goodness, you're soaked! You must have been outside when it was pouring. You should change out of those before you catch a cold or something worse!" She looked at Helios again and for the first time noticed that her brother's guest was wearing men's clothing. "How now, why were you walking around dressed like a boy?" She said, raising her eyebrows in bewilderment.

"Well I…um," Helios fidgeted uncomfortably in her seat while Horatio watched her nervously. "I wanted to leave my home to come have a look around the city but I wasn't suppose to come out on my own, so…so I disguised myself and slipped out, along with my dog," she gave Horatio an apologetic glance. "Unfortunately I became lost and somehow wondered around all night until Ariel found us." She looked up intently at Miranda and said with all due seriousness "I'm sorry about inconveniencing you," her eyes slipped back down to her lap.

Miranda sighed softly but the expression on her face was kindly. She smiled and said, "Don't say that. I believe that it's a fortunate thing that Ariel found you. It's been a few days since we've gotten any visitors and helping people in need is the right thing to do, I for one don't mind." She turned around and began walking towards the flight of stairs that Helios thought led to the sibling's living quarters. "I will go find some clothes for you to wear while you go take a warm bath and let those dry off. You look to be about my size so my dresses should fit you."

"You don't have to do that! I'm fine, really!" Helios shouted after Miranda.

Miranda looked over from the stair railing but didn't pause long enough for Helios to get another word in. "Oh, don't worry about it. Ariel could you go prepare the warm water please?"

Ariel swooshed his head from Helios then to his sister, trying to think of something to save Helios from permanently embarrassing herself. "But Onee-chan! I…I-uh still have other chores to do…!"

Miranda stopped again and this time she crossed her arms and said "I'm sure you can spare a few minutes. Now go and heat the water while I get the towel and clothes, please."

Ariel slumped his narrow shoulders. He gave Helios a condoling look before exiting the room through a back door.

Helios shook her head and wondered why, for what reason, did fate decide to do this to her. When she heard a strange sniffling noise beside her, she indignantly found Horatio with its paws over its muzzle, trying not to laugh. She glared at the pint size canine as its sniggling only grew louder when she looked away and her face grew redder. Fate has apparently decided to throw in feeling victimized as an added bonus.

The sound of Miranda's footsteps preceded her as she came down the stairs, now carrying a thin but clean looking bathrobe, white towels, and a folded dress in her left arm. She took the robe from her arm and handed it to Helios. "Here you go, you can wear this for now before the bath is ready. I will go see how Ariel's doing."

Helios demurred and had to take a deep breath before she accepted the bathrobe all the while telling herself she could probably undress even with her eyes shut. Miranda smiled and looked down at Horatio "Now we're going to leave your mistress alone, come on." She bent down to pick up Horatio who jumped into her open arms. It cuddled in her arms and licked her face and made Miranda giggle as she walk away "My, what a cute little puppy you are!"

Helios gave the dog a flat look.

Miranda took a seat on a short stool in the storefront with Horatio sitting contently in her lap. It was enjoying itself immensely as Miranda ran her hand gently over its head until a small voice behind the curtain murmured "I'm done."

Letting the dog hop off her lap first, Miranda stood up and turned her head inside the screen. Helios was in the bathrobe and had tied the cord tightly around her slim waist as she looked down at the floor, her clothes standing in a heap beside her. Seeing her like this made Horatio want to laugh again but it thought twice when Helios glared at it. Thankfully Ariel came back in with a cloud of stream behind him and announced that the bath was ready.

"Thank you Ariel," Ariel nodded and started walking away. Miranda looked up and hailed her brother "I almost forgot; how come you're home so early today Ariel?"

Ariel turned around and avoided looking directly at Miranda "The baker said he didn't need my help today. He said he'll see if he needs me tomorrow."

The room became quiet and Miranda signed inaudibly. She frowned but smiled at Ariel "I see, well then you'll need to remember to get up early tomorrow morning." Ariel looked at his sister now, nodded and hurried away.

Helios watched this with curious eyes but her mind wondered back when Miranda stepped behind her and gave her a gentle push toward the door Ariel had just came out from. "All right, come on before the bath water gets cold." She said but when Helios looked behind her she thought Miranda's smile at that time seemed somewhat constrained.

Helios slowly stepped out of the house onto a short wooden porch and saw a rather decrepit and messy backyard. She then walked into a wooden shed, the insides of which were lit by one small candle. The steam from the water hazed the details of the room but its incredible warmth prickled tantalizingly at Helios' cold skin. Miranda walked around her and put the dress and towels on a wooden chair that was being propped up on one shortened leg by a brick. In the far corner of the small room was the tub itself. A gray tin reservoir filled three quarters full with water, the surface of which shimmered with gold and copper light from the candle.

"We're pretty lucky to have a tub since such a luxury is rare in this part of town, but it really is nice to be able to have a nice long bath every once in a while," Miranda said as she checked the temperature of the bath and turned to the shy girl behind her. "Perfect! Ariel has become quite good with his fire spells I see." She smiled proudly to the water, swooshing it slightly with her index finger. The grandfather clock back in the house chimed and Miranda patted her wet hand on her dress. "I'll need to go make lunch now. I'll be back to check on you once I'm done; do you think you'll be all right by yourself?"

"…Yes," came the meek answer.

Miranda chuckled, "Okay, enjoy!"

The steel hinges swung closed and Helios was left alone in the small bathroom. She looked at the inviting bath and looked at the water's surface. In it she could see her own reflection, that of a familiar pair of amber eyes and white feathery hair. She reached one hand into the water, letting it sooth her slender and still slightly numb fingers before hesitantly pulling loose the cord and putting the robe on the chair. With one hand on the edge of the tub, she slipped in and let the same sensation that had embraced her finger to ease the sore muscles and strained nerves in the rest of her unfamiliar body.

The tub wasn't very long and she had to sit in it with her legs curled towards her chest, which constantly bothered her. _This feels so odd…_the thought staggered in her brain as she lowered her chin into the pool and stared at the surface with half-closed eyes, the edge of her hair floated on the water around her neck. Hoping that leaning back would help, Helios rested her head on the tub. She closed her eyes and cupped some water with her hands and lifted the liquid over her face, letting her palms come to rest above her forehead. When she opened her eye the pendent was staring into her eyes. Helios brought her hand down and looked at it, carefully taking the pink quartz star between her fingers and felt the pentacle prickling against her skin. How often she's looked at that tiny object she could no longer keep track. It had been with her for the better part of the last thousand years and by now she hardly noticed its existence, wrapped around her wrist as invisible as air.

The feeling left by the owner of this pendent however, has not faded or dampened in the wash of emotion it brought to her. Helios smiled faintly to the necklace and a small, curious part of her wondered what that princess would think if she found out about this incident. Immediately, Helios flushed at the after-thought, combined with the heat of the water her face was red like a pickled cherry.

Inside, she pondered the questions long-distance lovers find themselves asking when they have time to let their minds wonder._ What is she doing right now? Has she been upset lately? Does she know I'm here? If so, will she find me? _Helios stared past the pendent, past the walls of the small room, to a place where a tall crystal palace stood, tall and proud against the clean azure sky. Somewhere across the galaxy she imagined a girl with long pink hair whose heart is clear and far-reaching like the palace she lived in, with a dream that glowed truer than any star in the universe. In Elysian, Helios would at times divulged in thinking about her, letting the smile those thoughts brought show unabashedly on her lips, letting her soul sigh like watching a drifting dandelion in a warm breeze, secure in its unburdened flight.

A loud noise from outside in the yard jolted Helios' mind back to the present reality, to remember that this was not Elysian but the home of a stranger, that she was taking refuge from a group of men haunting the streets in search of her. She reactively pushed herself into the tub, her mind froze for a second, not knowing if the sound was benign or malevolent. When no other sounds followed Helios slowly looked back over the edge and willed her heart to beat to its normal rhythm again. She submerged her chin into the water, the top of her knees poking through the surface and she let out a long sigh as the ripples from her breath intercepting the ripples from her knee.

The pleasant image had left her and there was no retrieving it; no one can catch a tuff of dandelion that had been carried too far away into the sky. The tumble back to reality suddenly left a cramped feeling in the damp, musty room, and the water no longer felt as warm as if use to be. Helios shriveled inside, the awkwardness earlier seemed to beat against her again and this time the cooling water made it feel even more potent. Thoughts of Chibi Usa have been scarce sinceHelios came here to Somnus. There was never enough time from the instructions and meetings to allow time for her to even breathe at her own pace. And now that Helios' finally got an opportunity to think about her Maiden this world has rudely slap the door shut and reminded her with the eloquence of a dropped iron pan how dangerous her situation still was.

"Viola-san," Miranda's voice called from behind the door.

Helios' head shot out from the water again and she hurriedly replied "Yes?"

"Lunch is ready. Are you finished yet? You might need some help putting on that dress; the strings on the back are rather complicated."

"Uh, yes, just a minute!" Helios shouted and Miranda waited a few extra seconds before opening the door.

The ends of her hair still dripping, Helios had dried herself and has pulled the dress over her head. But due to inexperience with this type of clothing, she had a hard time finding one of the sleeves and was pushing her arm around blinding in search of the missing sleeve. Miranda laughed and held out the evasive sleeve for her guest. Helios fidgeted slightly while Miranda stood behind her and her hand hovered over Helios' back as she laced the yellow dress together.

"That's a beautiful necklace you have there."

Helios stopped and blinked for a second before following Miranda's eyes to her wrist. The white haired girl moved her left hand to her pendent then looked back at Miranda.

Miranda smiled earnestly "It's a very unique looking trinket; I've never seen a design like that. Where did you get it?"

Helios' lips curled in a faint smile "It's from a friend."

"Just a friend?" Miranda winked at Helios from behind.

Helios didn't answer but her eyes moved away and that was all the indication Miranda needed before she said with a wider smile, "From a very good friend then?"

Helios' nodded, "Yes, a very good friend…"

"Hmm, why don't you wear it then? It seems a pity for such a pretty thing be hidden behind a sleeve cuff all the time."

"But I…"

"Don't worry, you're such a pretty girl, it will look great on you!"

"…All right then…" Helios tentatively and carefully unfastened it. Miranda took the necklace by the clips and laid the delicate pendent around Helios' throat before fastening it.

The young hostess came around and clasped her hands together. "Fabulous! Here," she groped around in a trunk sitting in a corner of the crowded bathroom and took out a tea saucer sized mirror. "What do you think?" she asked and held it out between them for Helios to see for herself.

Helios' eyes fluttered to Miranda's reflection and her own reflection. The clear surface of the mirror showed what the water only hinted at. Even she had to admit that she looked rather nice like this and the thought immediately made her face burn.

Miranda saw the look on Helios' face and her giggle echoed like the ringing of tiny bells in the room. Helios, awakened to the whimsical moment this represented, decided to laugh with her.

* * *

On the other side of the city, someone was throwing a fit as a group of brawny man cowered before him. 

"What do you mean you didn't get them!" Guildenstern screamed.

The thugs from the morning raid were standing huddled together like a bunch of scared rabbits cornered by a wolf hound in their burrow as their leader momentarily paused in his tirade.

One of them took the opportunity to mutter, "But it wasn't out fault…"

"Not you fault! So was it my fault then!"

"No, that's not what I mean! It's just that when we went into the inn they weren't there!"

Guildenstern huffed and sat down in his chair while his brother tried to make as little noise during this conversation as possible.

A man nursing a broken nose spoke up, "But I did saw someone who had slipped out of their room, except…"

"Except what?" Guildenstern demanded with the crispness of a snapping whip in his voice.

The man swallowed "Well…I saw a girl and a dog. At first I thought it was someone else but then I noticed she was wearing the same gray jacket Caliban described to us so I chased after her."

Hearing this Guildenstern's thin eyes narrowed and he asked more placidly, "…You are sure you put the potion in their drinks and they drank it?"

The man who did so nodded hard. Guildenstern pondered this and his eyes slowly drifted to the blonde person sitting to his left. "…Rosencrantz, I need to ask you something…"

Hearing this Rosencrantz froze in his seat and gulped. He smiled but the corner of his lips was twitching and his voice was shaking slightly as he answered, "Uh…yes?"

Guildenstern slowly turned his eyes onto his brother and asked in a dead flat voice "Are you absolutely, positively sure what you got me was what I requested from Mantua?"

Rosencrantz looked away from his brother and touched his index finger together nervously "Yes…but not completely yes…"

Guildenstern gripped his pale hands onto the arms of the chair Rosencrantz was siting in and leaned in until Rosencrantz couldn't move his head away and only darted his wide bulging eyes away in a futile attempt to avoid his brother's gaze.

"What do you mean by that?" Guildenstern asked softly but dangerously.

Rosencrantz jerked his eyes to look as far away from Guildenstern as he can and mumbled, "Well I-I kind of, uh, accidentally took one of Mantua's potions by…accident, and I forgot which one of the two I left with was-was the one you wanted…"

"So you randomly choose one of the two and handed it to me?"

"…Yes"

Guildenstern looked down and backed away a little and Rosencrantz thought his crisis might be over when Guildenstern stuck his face right up to Rosencrantz's nose and screamed, "You idiot of a brother! Tell me, what was in that other bottle that you had! What did you do with it!"

The blonde whimpered and sat there shaking "I-I don't know! I threw the other bottle away, but I don't know what was in the bottle I gave you! I accidentally palmed it from Mantua when he surprised me and I slipped it into my pocket by mistake! Honest!"

Guildenstern stepped away and started walking out of the room "All of you come with me! I want to know what the hell was in that bottle!" snapping his head around to Rosencrantz who have slumped into his chair like a block of putty, Guildenstern ordered "Rosencrantz you are coming with me! I need you to show me just what exactly you took from that shop!"

* * *

The shop owner closed a heavy leather bound book and set it aside on the counter. He stood up and stretched his back, producing a few cracking sounds as he sighed in the easing of his back strain. But that moment did not last long as the door of his shop was forced opened with a jarring BANG! Bottles and containers on the shelves rattled and Mantua gasped as several large men pushed into the room, followed by a formally dressed Guildenstern and his huddled brother Rosencrantz. 

Mantua hurried from where he stood and nervously greeted his guests. "Oh, what an unexpected visit Sir," he shot a quick glance at the men standing around him, his old bony hands shaking slightly as he brought his palm together and tried to keep his voice cheerful. "How may I help you?"

Guildenstern looked around the shop expectantly then nodded towards one of his henchmen. The man walked up to Guildenstern who gracefully lifted out a small empty bottle from his coat. The giant turned around and stared down at Mantua, "My master wants to know if you had anything that resembled this around the shop yesterday."

Mantua looked at the bottle, squinting hard as he looked through his thick glasses. "I-well, you see, there are several potions with containers of that sort so-"

"I don't care! Tell me what is in it!" Guildenstern demanded. His beautiful pale skin was stretched thin over his face as he said this.

Mantua trembled and thought franticly to himself, going through his memory about what he had the day before. "I-I remember that the gentleman behind you came in and-"

Guildenstern's eyes thinned irritably and he shouted, "No you old fool, I'm asking you about the potion! Tell me then, were you missing anything at closing time yesterday?"

Mantua thought hard to himself, then looked up as if he had just been struck by lightning "Yes, yes! I took inventory last night and one of my new potions came up missing! I thought I might have misplaced it somewhere-"

"Never mind that! What was the potion for? What were its properties?"

The old man hurried to the counter and rummaged around behind it until he resurface with the same bottle Guildenstern's henchman held. Guildenstern examined the bottle and held it out to Rosencrantz who meekly looked at it and nodded. "Now tell me, what is it suppose to do," he said more calmly this time.

Hearing this, Mantua went back to open the book he had been reading before Guildenstern's arrival. Finding what he wanted, the old man explained haltingly, "I-I was using an old formula I found in this book. It says here that it will turn a man into whatever body another person curses him to be. It's a bit of a silly trick. It's really a trick potion as the effects don't last for more than a day but I thought I might sell it to some boisterous young people..."

"That's all?"

"Yes-here," Mantua turned the book to Guildenstern who glanced over before turning to one of the men.

"You said you saw a girl and a dog, is that correct?" The man nodded. The black haired leader next looked to Caliban. "Caliban, did you by any chance call them some names before you ran?"

Caliban slowly nodded "Yeah, I called one of them a sissy and the other a lap dog…" at this point even he seemed to have realized what this implied "So that means…"

Guildenstern however, did not answer him. Instead he turned to Mantua and looked at the old man with a sudden pleasant mien. "Thank you for you assistance, Mantua-san. I am terribly sorry about this…fuss," he reached into his pocket and took out a small but hefty pouch and put it in Mantua's hands. "A little gratitude from me," he smiled broadly while Mantua smiled uneasily "and let's forget that this little incident took place. It's would be quite unpleasant if someone were to gossip." Guildenstern opened his eyes and Mantua sucked in a deep breath when he saw the razor intent in those brown eyes.

With a twist of his heels Guildenstern existed the pitiful shop, his entourage following close behind him. Guildenstern waved Caliban forward with his left hand and said "Tell the spies to follow the trail of that girl and her pet down to the slums. Find them and nail them before the potion wears off!"

"Got it, this time I'll get them for sure!" Caliban slammed his fist into his palm to emphasize his point.

"Be sure to do that," Guildenstern grinned.

* * *

Lunch with Miranda and Ariel was simple and although the pickings were meager it cooked with care and knowledge in how to make the most out of the plainest of ingredients. Ariel sat beside the fireplace in the tiny living room, reading. Miranda stepped out of the kitchen and wiped her hand on her apron before taking it off, folding it, and storing it away in a cabinet. She went to the front of the shop and looked out the window at the sky. 

"I see breaks in the clouds. You should be able to get back home when the sun comes out, Viola-san."

Helios smiled "Thank you for taking care of us."

Miranda smiled back, then looked at her little brother "Remember to return those books to where you found them once you are done Ariel. But really, what do you have to take so many of them off the shelf all of a sudden, you've read them all before."

"I know that, but you know I like alchemy and magic." Ariel pouted at his sister and his childish expression made her laugh.

"I know, just remember to put them back okay?" she said gently.

Ariel grinned and gave her a big nod. "By the way Onee-chan, what are we having for dinner?" he asked off handedly.

"You must be hitting your growth spurt, you just had lunch. Well, let me see what we have first," She walked to the pantry "Oh no, we're out of potatoes and bacon again. Ariel I'll need to go out again; watch the shop while I'm away okay?"

"Sure thing Onee-chan." Ariel replied without looking up from his book.

Miranda smiled and shook her head as she put on her cloak and grabbed her basket. "He's really into that stuff…" she said half to herself. Helios, who's been siting across the small table from Ariel heard Miranda and looked up at her hostess from across the room.

"He's a good boy," the fair-haired young woman said in all honesty.

Miranda smiled and her face was glowing positively by the praise this stranger was giving her sibling. "Thank you, well I'll need to be going now. I'll see you later then."

"Good bye."

The doorbell ringed and closed as Miranda passed by the store window and out of sight.

Ariel puts his book down and dashed to the window to make sure she was gone. Turning around he said enthusiastically, "All right, let's start each looking for clues. I'll finish that pile I have on the table, you two look through the books on that shelf over there." He pointed at a bookcase perpendicularly place to the window. Helios went to the book shelve and pulled out a few books. Some of the books were thick, so heavy that they made Helios lean back in order to carry them in her arms. "Here, let me handle the heavy ones, just put the books down on the ground." Helios did as he suggested and placed the heavier ones down for Horatio to paw through instead.

"I thought we'd never get a chance to do this," Horatio complained. "She's really nice but we can't do anything when she's here. Lucky thing you guys ran out of groceries."

Helios frowned "But didn't she just come back from buying groceries this morning? It couldn't have all been used up so quickly could it?"

Horatio's eyes drifted to Ariel and looked at the boy with suspicious silence.

Ariel smiled, "Don't worry, I'll put the food back later."

The girl and the dog sweat dropped.

Ariel sat back down in his chair and instructed, "Now remember, look for something that describes your symptoms. I'm pretty sure the symptoms may be unique but it's likely to be an uncommon spell so keep that in mind." Ariel instructed before running his finger across the remainder of the page he had been browsing.

The room settled into the quiet rhythmic sounds of moving paper. The grandfather clock ticked on, like a metronome keeping the beat of their progress. The hour hand stood at two while the minute hand moved from the five-minute marker to the tenth marker, moving on to the twentieth and then towards the forty-fifth.

Helios closed the book she had been looking through and placed it on the "read" pile she and Horatio had designated. She paused to take a deep breath and rest her eyes. This was not the kind of reading she had been used to. Back on Earth she had all the time in the world and she could read at whatever pace she liked. The speed-reading (scanning really) she was forced to do made her eyes winch and she rubbed the ridge between her eyes to relieve the pressure before grudgingly reaching for another book off the next shelf.

When she opened the book she was surprised to find that it did not look like the alchemy or magic books with their signs and symbols that she had been looking through for almost an hour. She looked at the large print of the page she was on and read it silently to herself.

"_The Forgotten King", looks like a children's story of some sort_, she thought to herself. Deciding that it might be a good idea to let her mind take a small break, she began reading the words on the cream colored page. The story immediately struck her a fairytale and it took place like many other such children's stories in a city that was the center of a great kingdom. The kingdom was prosperous and peaceful. This was thanks to a powerful but mysterious gift called the "Treasure". It protected the people and was considered sacred by the inhabitants of that land. Because it was so important, it was the king's responsibility to protect the Treasure.

Helios flipped to the next page and looked at a half page drawing of a city with graceful buildings, beautiful trees, and wide streets. She returned to the text and it described the king as a handsome and honorable man, someone who cared about his kingdom and his people. He was much beloved by his subjects and their lives were happy and content under his rule. But happiness and prosperity never linger for slowly the king changed and became obsessed with the secrets of the Treasure. He stopped speaking to others; not even to his advisors would he speak more than the words necessary to dismiss them. No one knew why the king was behaving like this at the time and his subjects could only plead with him and asked that he turn his attention to the ever-increasing problems that were spreading across his realm. But the king paid them no heed until one day his chief minister came again and begged him to forget about the secrets of the Treasure. But the king became furious and had the minister executed, accusing him of trying to steal the Treasure's secrets from him. From that point on the king's delusion grew until he believed everyone was after the secrets and used the Treasure's power to terrorize his own people.

Another few pages were turned and this time it showed the image of the city in ruins, heavily armed soldiers marched in the streets while plums of black smoke rose in the background, the once beautiful city haunted constantly by fear. The image made the reader uncomfortable so she moved on. Fortunately, it seemed the king's terror did not last. One day a servant of Heaven came down in robes the color of the sun and came face to face with the deranged king. The king however, opposed the messenger and the two of them fought. The king had fully tapped into the power of the Treasure and used it to fight the holy messenger. But in the end the messenger prevailed and was able to defeat the king. Weakened by the defeat, the king died and the people were freed. By then however, the country lay in ruins. The king's stupidity and arrogance sickened Heaven so it took away its blessing and the Treasure disappeared. The people were saddened and angry with this, for they had lost something very important to them. They condemned their king, stripped him of his name and so to this day he is known was the Forgotten King, a ruler whose name had been purposefully forgotten by his own people.

"I didn't know you like legends and such," Ariel's voice suddenly said from beside her.

Helios saw that the boy was looking up at her. "I was just reading it for fun," she admitted.

"What story were you reading?"

Helios handed Ariel the book and the boy made a face at the page. "Hmm, I think this one's really depressing. I like this one better. Here," he handed the book back and Helios' eyes widened when she saw what was on the page facing her. It was a printed picture of a winged man and woman, the two of them standing beside each other in a fresh spring meadow. The last time he had seen this image was in the ruins of the palace in a place hidden behind stones and glass, an identical copy that had nearly been turned to ash in a fire ten years ago.

She turned immediately to Ariel, her hands tightly grasping the wings of the book. "Ariel," the boy in question blinked, "is this book for sale?"

"Uh, of course it is."

Helios closed the book but kept one finger on the page with the illustration and her face showed a tight serious expression. Ariel stared at her, confused by the sudden stiffness in her face until Helios finally asked, "How much?"

Ariel scratched his cheeks uncertainly "…Is this okay? I don't want Onee-chan to think that, well you know…"

Helios half smiled and argued hurriedly "Of course it is, you own a bookstore and I'm buying a book. Think of me as a customer right now, not a guest."

Ariel seemed to see the reason behind that argument and responded by reaching out his hand, "Okay then, but I'll need to write down the book's name in the account for Onee-chan later."

"Sure," Helios relinquished the book to Ariel who took the book and went to do the bookkeeping. Helios watched as the boy opened a thick notebook and wrote swiftly in it with a frayed feather pen. After double checking his work, Ariel closed the account book, put it away and came back to hand Helios the book.

"That'll be one silver lira." He said and Helios dug out the appropriate amount from the purse Horatio had carried and gave it to Ariel.

"You must be a great help around here Ariel, your family must be very proud."

Ariel smiled but his smile seemed weighted down by something inside. "Not really, Miranda is the only family I've got left."

"…" Helios couldn't find anything to say but she listened to Ariel closely.

"Our parents died in the war when I was little so my sister basically raised me all by herself." Ariel focused his eyes at the dust on the floor. "I want to be able to help her so I help out wherever I can, working for someone one day and doing something else another day but it's not really enough…It gets really hard at times for my sister. I…I sometimes wish my parents were still alive, then she wouldn't have to work so hard all the time and I wouldn't be as big a burden to her. The house would be livelier too and we wouldn't be so lonely." He admitted in a voice that had become a bare whisper.

Helios looked long at the boy standing in front of her. She knelt down and smiled at him "My parents passed away too and I have no memories of them." She breathed in the homely sent of this small house and said with empathy in her voice, "Some times I wish I do remember them, I wonder what it would've been like if they hadn't died…"

Ariel gazed at the young woman in front of him. For an instant he had forgotten that this person was really a man but the emotion from her words resonated with his feelings. Ariel shuffled his feet, smiling again. "Yeah…but I know I'm not really alone. I have Miranda and she has me, and we'll take care of each other. Things may be tough but we have each other. You have someone like that too right?"

Helios raised her gaze from the child's hand to his face then to his eyes. She held the book to her and nodded.

"Hey you two, quite talking and come over here. I think I've found something," Horatio's voice called to them, its snout buried in the folds of an old yellowed book. Helios and Ariel moved to where the terrier sat and looked at what it pointed at with its paw on the paper. "What do you think?" Horatio asked Ariel who was already scanning the passage with his quick eyes. Helios glanced over the passage. What Horatio had found was a formula for a potion and even though the instructions did not make much sense to her, the words "transformation of the subject's body" did indeed seem hopeful.

"I see, I think you've got it Hori-san!" Ariel smiled broadly at the dog.

"I did? Can you understand what it says? I'm no expert on this kind of stuff." Horatio's tail began to wag excitedly at this and Helios watched as Ariel reread the passage.

After a few minutes, Ariel nodded to himself, his hand on his chin "Hmm, this is a tough one to understand, but I think the effect of the potion is suppose to change a person into whatever someone else calls him. Did someone call you something yesterday?"

Helios and Horatio looked at each other. "That man did call us a few names but I can't remember exactly what." Helios recalled.

"Whatever he called us doesn't matter right now, does it say how long this potion will last?"

Ariel went back to the text, his eyebrows pointed in concentration. "It doesn't give an exact time limit but I think may be between 18 to 20 hours."

"We probably got drugged at about eight or nine last night so…" the dog's tail wagged harder as it checked the ticking grandfather clock. "That means we'll be able to change back within the next two or three hours!" it twirled once in a circle and barked happily "I'm not going to be stuck as a dog for the rest of my life, yes!"

"But in that case we should leave soon. If we stall then Miranda-san might find out."

Helios reminded her friend.

"Good point, we should leave and wait out the rest of the time somewhere else. It shouldn't be too hard to find a small hideout for an hour or so, right Ariel?" Horatio wagged his tail at Ariel.

The door ringed and the sound of the hinges moving made everyone in the room hush up. Half expecting it was Miranda standing at the door, instead Helios saw an old man standing in front of the closed door. He removed his hat and Helios could see neatly combed gray hair, a trim but thick mustache, and light wrinkles under his eyes. The elderly gentleman's coat was the color of pale ash with velvet black silk cuffs and collars. His frame was rounded like a wine barrow and a thin silver chain draped from his belt into his pocket.

"Prospero-san," Ariel smiled form ear to ear when he recognized the visitor. The boy ran out to the door and took Prospero's hat "Here, let me take that for you!"

The old man chuckled and there was a benevolent hum to it that made Helios relax despite this was his first encounter with the stranger. "Hello Ariel, how have you been?"

"I'm fine," Ariel said cheerily and hanged the hat on the coat hanger "I've been reading the two books you gave me last time, they're really great! The theory is a little tricky for me right now but I'm working hard to understand them."

"Good, and I was afraid those might have been a little too difficult for you," Prospero walked into the storefront and saw Helios and Horatio standing there. "Oh have I interrupted you Miss? I am terribly sorry-"

"Oh they're not customers, I met Viola-san today and she came here to browse for fun." Ariel quickly said and Helios let go of the breath she had been holding.

Prospero nodded and smiled pleasantly before bending his back a little in a bow in Helios direction. "I see, pleased to meet you Viola-san."

Helios nodded once and did a quick bow herself. "To you as well, Sir."

Ariel spoke up again, "Are you looking for something today Prospero-san?"

"Not particularly, I just thought I'd come and check on you and Miranda today. Say," Prospero looked up and scanned the room, "is Miranda not here?"

"No, she went to buy groceries."

"I see…" the old gentleman seemed pensive, Helios observed. His graying brows pulled together for a moment before pulling back again into a smile. "In that case I suppose I will take my leave now," he said gently when the door opened again.

This time it was Miranda standing at the door, her basket covered with a rough piece of cloth that sank into the half-filled hamper. When she saw who was standing in front of her, she gasped softly and put her basket on the ground slowly. "Prospero-san…how are you today?" she smiled but it didn't quite touch her eyes.

"I came to see how the two of you are doing, I was just wondering where you went," Prospero smiled at Miranda.

"I am doing well, thank you," she smiled again.

"I'm glad to see that," Prospero nodded to himself and smiled sincerely. He took the hat Ariel had helped retrieve for him "Thank you my dear boy. And Miranda," he paused and looked down for a minute before continuing. "Have you reconsidered what I've said before? I really do not mind if you-"

"Prospero-san," Miranda's voice cut him off and she looked away, her gaze resting on the floor two feet away from her. "My answer…is still no. I'm sorry."

"…I understand." Prospero put his hat on and his eyes disappeared under its brim briefly before he looked up and cast a disappointed smile at the girl in front of him. "I will come visit you two again some other time then, my secretary is probably throwing a fit right now since I've decided to leave work early today." Ariel giggled and Prospero smiled with him. He leaned forwards and kissed Miranda's cheek fatherly and she smiled at him. Prospero then looked at Helios and tipped him hat in her direction "Farewell Viola-san."

Helios nodded mutely and watched as Miranda moved out of the way and Prospero exited the store.

"Onee-chan," Ariel said quietly and made Miranda look at him. "Viola-san says she'll be going home soon. Is it okay if I go with her so she won't get lost again?"

"Oh of course," Miranda looked to Helios now while Ariel went to grab his jacket and Horatio, needing a change of scenery from having stared at paper and ink for almost an hour, barked and scurried up with him.

"I didn't think you would be leaving us so soon Viola-san."

Helios smiled apologetically "Thank you again for taking care of us. But we really ought to be going, I don't want to worry the others."

Miranda's closed her eyes briefly and nodded. "You're welcome," but the quality in her voice made Helios wonder. Miranda looked out the window of her shop, her eyes shimmering in the light that came through the glass panels. Helios approached her and stood beside her.

"Is something wrong?" she asked gently.

Miranda's eyes opened wide for a second then closed partially; Helios thought she looked tired and exhausted all of a sudden. "I'm fine, it's just that…" Miranda turned and looked at Helios. Helios looked back at her patiently, waiting for whatever she has to say. Miranda stared into the girl's copper-gold irises and a door in her opened up a fraction.

"Prospero-san…he's one of the district mayors of this city. But it might surprise you to know that he was also a very good friend of my parents before they passed away." Miranda looked down and her hands stood knitted together by her waist. "Ever since our parents died he's been taking care of us, treating us like we were his own children. And for a long time now he's been asking that we move in with him." Miranda shook her head and her teal colored hair swayed with her.

"But…I can't. This store means a lot to me; it's the only thing I have left from Mama and Papa, I can't just leave!" She stopped again and this time Helios could see that the sunlight was hitting dews of tears by the corner of her eyes. "But, if we went to live with Prospero-san then Ariel will be able to go to school and do what he loves…" Miranda cupped her hands over her nose, sniffled, and pulled them down then wiped the moisture away with a finger.

"Have you asked him if he wants to go?" Helios said softly in a voice that sounded like light on fresh snow.

Miranda nodded and gave Helios a sad smile. "He said he would rather stay with me but I know inside he wants to pursue his dream more than anything else. I feel awful and selfish sometimes. I'm his sister but I can't make him happy. I should try to think of something that's best for both of us but when I try I couldn't come up with anything; I don't know what to do…" A drop of her tear hit the floor, creating a tiny puddle.

Helios walked a little closer to Miranda. She thought for a moment before she said, "You're not selfish Miranda-san, you are a very kind and considerate person. You're dream is to keep store open right?" Miranda looked up and through her tears saw a smiling young woman with threads of sunlight in her pearly hair, standing against the window. "You don't want the happy times that you've had with your family to fade away and so you want to remain here, where those memories were made."

Helios touched the pendent that hung around her neck. "Sometimes even the desire to protect someone important can bring pain to that person instead, especially if we remain strong headed and think what we do is the only way to protect that person." She reached out with the hand that was once on the necklace and laid it atop Miranda's clutched hands. "It is because you care about Ariel and this store so much that you are torn between choosing one or the other. But don't let the difficulties block you mind, don't give up. You will think of something to resolve this, I'm sure of it."

Miranda stood looking at this stranger and listened to her words. She looked into her eyes and thought she saw someone young and wise all at once. There was pain and hope in her voice, one that spoke from personally experiences; experiences that she has passed through not unscathed but the wounds have healed and the faint scars were now marks of insight.

Miranda clasped her hand on top of Helios' and Helios was relieved to see her smile. "Thank you Viola-san…you are very wise for someone so young," she said before letting go.

Helios chuckled and her hand returned to her side. "Perhaps just a little." She said with an admitting smile that made Miranda chuckle.

"Onee-chan," Ariel's voice footsteps bounced from the second floor before he appeared by the stairs "Could you come up for a second? I can't find my jacket."

"Oh, just a minute," Miranda answered.

Helios looked again at the grandfather clock and at Horatio whom have returned to her side. "We should be going now, it's getting late."

"Let me get your clothes for you, they should be dry now." Miranda left the shop front and into the backyard. Helios and Horatio watched as she left the room, unaware that someone was watching them in turn from outside. The man outside the window sharply turned away from the window's edge and melted into the street to report his observations.

A few minutes later the front door of the bookstore opened and Horatio stepped out onto the streets and tasted the air. It wheeled around and waited for the two other travelers to come out. The sun was still sitting relatively high in the sky although the heat from its rays was producing few other travelers on the streets.

"Be careful on your way home, and please do come visit us again Viola-san," Miranda smiled.

Helios smiled at her, a little sadly this time since if they were to meet again she probably won't recognize her in her real body. "I will," she said nonetheless.

As the three of them walked away, Miranda waved to them and Helios waved back. Miranda stood by her door until she could no longer see the backs of her new friend and she sighed to herself before going back inside. Closing the door, she walked to the window and was about to draw the curtains when a loud tap came from the door. Thinking it might be a customer Miranda went to the door and opened it.

"Yes, how may I help you-" she said when the door was pushed open and a large hand suddenly wedged itself between the door panel and the frame. Miranda gasped and tried to push the door close but the hand was much stronger than her shoulders and she was shoved onto the floor when it flung open.

Miranda pushed herself off the wooden floor and blinked in the flooding afternoon sunlight as several tall men stood over her. The last one closed the door and locked it shut behind him. The leader of the group was none other than Caliban and he pulled Miranda up roughly by one arm and held onto her like an unrelenting lion's jaw.

"Sorry but I didn't know you were closing early today." He said and one of his goons who flipped the closed sigh over the window and finished drawing the curtains. Caliban looked back at Miranda and looked at her closely. "You were saying how you could help me, well then, tell me where the girl and the dog that just left are going."

Miranda closed her eyes and turned her head away "I don't know what you are talking about-"

The next thing she knew she was shoved against the floor and she moaned when a throb came from her knees. "Don't make you hurt you Missy, cause I can mess you real good. Now I'll repeat: where are the white haired girl and her dog going to?"

Miranda rubbed her bruised knee and looked up stubbornly at Caliban. "I told you already, I don't know…she was just a customer who came in to browse."

"Really…" Caliban looked up and grinned maliciously. His pals circled tighter around him as he gabbed Miranda by her neck "I hope you're not hiding something from me now are you?"

Miranda, who couldn't speak now closed her eyes and gasped. Seeing that this was getting him nowhere, he tossed Miranda back against the floor and huffed angrily.

"So what the hell are we gonna do now? Don't tell me we came up empty handed again." A weasel looking man shouted at Caliban with his scrawny hands resting on his belt.

Caliban snared at him "Shut up!" He tapped his boots on the floor, his brain ticking. "That girl couldn't tell us anything useful. Maybe she was telling the truth..." He muttered to himself. Turning around sharply, he shouted at his men "Damn it, I'm gonna go see if I can find those two bastards, they're still nearby. You two there," he motioned to two of his men "come with me; the rest of you stay here just in case they come back around. The rest of you tie her up," he pointed with his thumb "Don't let the girl go anywhere."

* * *

"Say Cesario-san, where do you live anyway? You never told me," Ariel asked. 

"Somewhere up town," Horatio answered. "But we can find our way back after we get out of this part of the city so don't worry about it."

Ariel looked up at the horizon and the phantoms of buildings in the distance. "Wow, your home must be very nice if you afford to live there."

Helios looked at the boy. "Do you want to live there someday?"

Ariel tilted his head to one side and looked up at the sky, following a patch of cloud as it floated by. "Sure! I went up there to visit Prospero-san once and I saw the nice houses there. Since then I've decided when I grow up, I want to buy a big house up in the nicest district of the city," he spread his arms out and said grinning to his companions. "Then Onee-chan can have a nice place to live and still be able to run the bookstore."

"I see…" Helios smiled benignly "You love your sister a lot Ariel," he voice grew soft, almost inaudible above the noise of the street. "She's very fortunate to have a brother like you."

"Err, I just remembered something," Horatio suddenly stopped and looked up at Helios. "You brought my parcel with you right now right?"

Helios reached into her pockets but she only carried the book she had brought with her. She shook her head. "I think Miranda-san must have taken it out when she was drying my clothes and forgot to put it back in."

"It's okay I can deliver it to your house later…" Ariel proposed but Horatio were already turning around.

"It's alright we'll go get it right now, we haven't walked that far yet any ways." Horatio reasoned. _It would be bad if he found out we lived in the royal palace_, Horatio thought secretly.

"We'll be very fast, don't worry." Helios called back as she walked in the opposite direction. Looking down she said to her canine companion in a low whisper "Sorry, I forgot about it, but let's do this fast just in case we linger and change back in front of Miranda-san while we're there."

Horatio nodded its fuzzy head.

"What did you buy anyway? Is it something important?" Helios couldn't help but ask.

"You'll see," was all the answer Horatio was willing to give her as it trotted forward.

"Hey, Wait for me!" Ariel hurried after them and Horatio barked at him to hurry. With in a couple of minutes they had arrived back at the bookstore.

As they neared the store, Ariel saw the sign on the door and frowned. "That's weird, Onee-chan never close the store this early…"

Helios looked up and saw Caliban walk out with two other men behind him. They started to scan the street, and without thinking Helios grabbed Ariel, put her hand over his mouth and pulled him into the shadow of a pottery stand beside them. She kept her hand over him for a few seconds and let go of him when she saw the three men disappear and no one bursting out the door after them.

Ariel stepped away from her; clearly confused. "What was that for?" his question were cut short by a growl from Horatio.

"Sshhh, the people who were after us are in there!"

Initially Ariel's hands covered his mouth but then his small face blanched visibly.

After waiting for a few extra minutes, the three of them moved closer to the store and hid inside the mouth of the alley. Horatio trotted over to the gap in the window and peeped in. From that low angle he could see at least a three men crowded into the storefront. In the far edge of visibility was Miranda sitting in a chair, her hands behind the chair's back. One man was standing behind her, tying a handkerchief around her mouth. She was glaring at him but with no visible wounds or injuries Horatio thought she was probably unharmed.

It jogged went back into the alley and reported, "Miranda's being held hostage and there's at least three guys in there, maybe more."

Ariel was shaking now as he said, "What are we going to do? What if she's been hurt or-or…" Helios put her hands on his shoulders and knelt down in front of him, staring into the ten year old's gray eyes.

"She's going to be all right Ariel, we're going to help her," turning her head to Horatio she said "We are going to get her out of here; now."

Horatio tensed and his small body shifted uneasily "Yeah, well how? I can't do squat right now in this body. If we can wait another hour or two then I'd be able to change back then maybe-"

"We don't have that much time!" Helios shouted and made both Ariel and Horatio stare at her. "It was because of us that she got into this, I am not going to leave her like this."

Ariel looked into Helios' eyes as she said this, and he saw steeled determination and a little something else, something flickering and snapping in her eyes. He nodded "I trust you Cesario-san."

Helios nodded, stood up and said to Horatio "Since the time limit for the potion is almost up you can try to run back and get help. I will stay here and figure out a way to get Miranda-san out."

"But what if they find you first or you end up getting caught? You can't use or sword or anything, especially not in that body," Horatio reasoned.

Helios didn't say anything at first but she smiled solemnly, "I have my insurance."

"But I'm suppose to be your bodyguard-!"

"Horatio," Helios looked squarely at the terrier until it looked away, disgruntled.

Horatio sighed and narrowed its round marble eyes at the girl. "You know, this is just _slightly _insane, and when Laertes finds out about this he's gonna have my head for sure." It shook its head, much like an old man listening to the absurd plans of a young fool. "All right, I guess we can give your plan a try. If you do get in trouble, try to get hold of the packet first. You should find it useful in that case."

Helios blinked but Horatio had turned his attention to Ariel and asked hurriedly "Can you tell me what's the quickest route to the upper city?"  
Ariel nodded firmly and squatted on the ground. Using a piece of stone, he itched in a crude map on the dirt and Horatio listened and studied it intently. After just a few minutes, with Helios acting as the lookout, Horatio looked up again and indicated it was ready. Before it left it said to Helios "Whatever you do, be careful!"  
"I know," Helios answered.  
Horatio shook its head at the absurdity of the moment one last time before it crouched down and dashed down the alley and disappeared from sight. 

Now with just the two of them left, Ariel whispered to Helios "What are we going to do now?"

Helios thought about this carefully, "If we can get into the house then we can try to distract them." She bent down and looked at the side door Ariel had led her into the house earlier. "I remember the side door was unlocked. If you can sneak into the backyard and distract them somehow then I can try and get back into the house." She looked down the alley again. "Is there a good place to hide anywhere near here?"

Ariel nodded "That alley leads right down to the river and there's a bridge over it that can provide some cover."

"All right then, once I get Miranda-san out we'll head in that direction."

"…Okay" Ariel swallowed audibly and despite his best efforts to keep himself together, his eyes were battering wildly.

"Ariel," Helios' voice made Ariel look up again. She was kneeling in front of him now and Ariel thought she looked small but her eyes were focused. "Please…believe in me, I can't do this without you right now."

Ariel took a deep breath and nodded as firmly as he could. "I will, please tell me what to do."

Helios smiled again. "Can you do that moving spell that you did earlier?"

"Sure"

"Good, here's the plan…"

A few minutes later Ariel's eyes looked through a hole in the faded wooden fence behind the store. When he saw that there was no one there, he whispered a spell word sharply and the loose clasp that kept the old backyard door in line with the fence unlatched. He gave Helios one last look and received an affirmative nod before slipping into the yard.

Re-latching the door, the young boy dodged behind the back wall of the small building that housed the tub, through short tuffs of grass and looked at the door leading into the house. He shuffled up to the door, walking slowly to avoid the creaking wooden planks of the patio, and stayed just below the window so no one inside can see him. Slowly and carefully he raised his eyes above the bottom glass panel. Inside he could see the three men had settled themselves around the store and appeared rather bored just to be standing on guard there.

Ariel steadied himself, took a deep breath and pulled as hard as he could at the brass handle.

The jostle of noise from the doorknob instantly caught the men's attention. "What the hell was that?" one of them whispered.

"Donno, hey didn't the Boss' informant said the girl has a brother? Maybe it's him."

"Hurry up and get him then, go!" the senior of the three urged the others and they rushed towards the door.

Ariel knew they'd be coming and ran as fast as he could to the other side of the bathroom when the men burst out from the house. They spread out around the door and looked around, but didn't see anyone there.

"The hell?" one of the shouted.

"There's nobody here! Damn it, don't tell me we were hearing things?"

While the thugs were in confusion, Ariel redirected his attention to an old knell that was resting on a heap of broken rubbish. "_Dextrorsus_" he whispered as quietly as he could. The knell moved a fraction of an inch, but it was enough to move its center of gravity and caused it to crash and ding to the ground. The men pounced on the heap of rubbish, thinking their quarry was hiding there when Ariel sprinted from his hiding place and shot into the room, slamming and locking the door behind him.

Miranda's eyes were wide open as she watched her kid brother run to the side door, letting Helios in. The two of them rushed back to Miranda and helped untie her. Once her mouth was freed, she stared incredulously at the two people in front of her. "Ariel, Viola-san what are you doing back here?" she said breathlessly.

"Saving you Onee-chan" Ariel said quickly and he pulled away the last bit of rope tying her down.

The thugs however haven't been idling around and the three of them were trying to kick the door down and from the way the frail door was screaming it was only a matter of seconds before they come rushing into the room.

Miranda grabbed Ariel's hand and the two of them exchanged apprehensive glances. Helios thought furiously when her eyes fell on the reason why they had returned to the store in the first place. Sitting on the back of the living room chair was Horatio's package and Helios grabbed at it. When she opened the package Horatio had told her, she was surprised to find a small stick of firecracker staring back at her. At another time Helios would have probably asked why was her friend carrying this around in his pocket but right now was no time to ponder. She picked up the firecracker and bundled the rest of the package into another pocket before sticking the line of the miniature explosive into the fading embers of the fireplace.

With the short line glowing red, Helios rolled it with a swift motion of her arm to the door. "Come on!" she pushed Miranda and Ariel toward the side door just as the backdoor and the firecracker went off at the same time. The three of them rushed out into the alley, accompanied with loud cracks, smoke, and screams coming from behind them.

They charged down the alley, making a sharp turn at the end and came out onto a main street before dodging into another alley. They ran the full length of the alley and entered into a large three-way courtyard.

"We're almost there!" Ariel said, running in front when his shoes made a sharp squeal on the damp stone pavement and he suddenly came to a stop at the center the courtyard. Miranda gave a small cry when she saw Caliban and his two goons standing behind him at the exit they had been running towards.

For a second Caliban was just as surprised but his face quickly turned to a gleeful sneer when he saw who was in front of him. "Well, well, well if it isn't the little gentleman I met earlier. You look pretty good as a girl, better than what I gave you credit for at the time."

Helios' only reaction was to move slowly in front of Ariel and Miranda. "Miranda-san go with Ariel and get to safety," she said quietly.

"But you-" Miranda shifted her eyes from Caliban to Helios and back to Caliban.

"I will hold them off." Helios glanced back at her "don't worry." Inside she was starting to feel a ticklish feeling and though it made her feel edgy, she tried to look confident when she said this to the siblings. "Go, quickly!"

Ariel tugged at his sister's hand "Come on Onee-chan!"

Miranda, her mouth agape, was obviously torn but with her brother's persistence she turned her head and ran with Ariel to the other entrance.

Caliban crossed his arms and watched the siblings leave. "Hmp, so you're gonna stay and face me then? In case you've forgotten, if it weren't for your friend back there you'd have a knife wedged in your ribs right now. But where is he now? Oh I forgot, he got turned into a dog!" Caliban burst into mirthless laughter and his men followed suit, their ruckus echoing in the tall, cylindrical courtyard.

Helios stood her ground firmly and stared back at Caliban. Sensing her eyes on him, Caliban stopped his chortle and his broad eyes stared back into a pair of pupils surrounded by molten gold.

"Don't think those friends of yours well get off so easily, I'll find them soon enough. But I'll be having some fun taking care of you first," Caliban grinned and advanced a step, his hand reaching behind him for something.

Helios took one step back. The ticklish feeling had grown to a hollow sensation and was so strong Helios had to tighten one hand into a fist and bit her lips. Just as she was trying to suppress this odd sensation, Caliban drew out a knife, one bigger than the one he had before, and charged at her.

* * *

Horatio ran as fast as its four legs could carry it, which wasn't that bad considering four was better than two when it came to running. He dashed between the feet of pedestrians and other hazards as he made his way up. People tried to move out of the way, children squealed when they saw it, and all the while Horatio had to avoid getting stepped on by all the bigger things around it. 

_Damn it! How long before I get out of this body!_

A loud rash of noise came from behind him and Horatio darted a look back to see a large black-brown dog charging out after him. A man who was probably the owner was cursing as a leash flapped helplessly in the wind from the hound's neck.

"What the hell?" Horatio screamed aloud and pushed to run even fast. The last thing it was thinking about while it ran was accidentally infringing on another canine's territory.

The giant dog's barks left screeches and screams as Horatio made a sharp turn and came down a back street between two buildings. When it looked back the hound was only a few feet behind so Horatio turned again, hoping this will help it throw the chase off but all it did was end up at a dead end. There was a tall fence and a small pile of debris was discarded there, but not enough for a terrier to jump over the fence with.

"Holy crap!" Horatio screeched to a stop and looked back to see the other dog quickly approaching. Its little heart beating fast, Horatio decided that if it doesn't want to be torn to shreds then its going to have to try and jump over that fence. "Here's goes nothing, Ah!" it shot out at the fence, front legs hopping onto a piece of lumber, hind legs on the next box up and it pulled with all the strength its muscles could generate as a pair of jaws barely snapped the tip of its tail hair.

The fence was coming up fast and Horatio's eyes were filled with its promising edge but it then started to fall away. "No!" it reached out desperately when it felt something rough. Horatio opened his eyes and saw a hand, his hand, grabbing the edge of the wall. Without thinking for a split second, he pulled himself up and hauled himself over, landing on two upright feet.

Horatio stopped and blinked, staring at his hands while he sweated and the dog behind the fence barked at him. He finally looked back and he grinned triumphantly "Sorry old boy, I'm nobody's chew toy today," so saying he took off at a run into the open street.

Once on the street, Horatio looked around to get his bearings. He was still in the lower part of the city but luckily for him there was a group of a dozen or so patrolling soldiers stopping for a break in front of a store at the curve of the street and Horatio wasted no time in approaching them.

"Hey!" he shouted. The first soldier who saw him approach them was sitting on a sack of grain and he sprang up from his seat when he saw the hurrying figure run towards him.

"What do you want-" he started asking but Horatio cut him off with a wave of his hand as he bend over to catch his breath.

"Come with me quickly, a group of men are threatening someone very important and they've kidnapped a girl as well." He said quickly through fast breaths of air.

"What are you talking about?" said another soldier who had a mustache growing under a narrow nose. "Who is this important person you're talking about?"

"I can't tell you," Horatio straightened his back again and looked at the man with the mustache. "Just come with me, there's no time loose!"

"Geez, who are you to tell us what to do? Who do you think you are?" a young and inexperienced looking soldier said haughtily. His helmet was a bit too big for him and it fell over his eyes so he had to tilt it back to look at Horatio.

Horatio turned his face to that young man. His violet eyes set into a different setting and he said in a commanding voice that made the young lad's hand tremble when he first heard it. "I am Horatio, the Captain of the First Imperial Battalion, is that enough authority for you soldier?"

The young soldier wheezed and reached for his sword. "You're crazy! Why the hell would the Captain be out here looking like a tramp? Get out of here be-before I charge you for impersonating an military officer!"

Horatio at this point was very near the end of his patience. He took a step closer to the impetuous soldier and slowly lowered his face and the ignorant soldier's teeth began chattering when he felt Horatio breathing down his face. "No, you listen to me. You are too damn stupid to recognize one of your own superiors and you are delaying a situation that needs immediate attention. Do you have any idea how serious the consequences of this delay could be?" Horatio said with a calm that cut the air and inched in closer until his perfectly round eyes were mere three inches from that of the cowering soldier's. "And let me tell _you_ something, if that person gets hurt because of this insolence you can bet your sorry ass that I will personally see to it that you will never set foot in this city ever again!"

There was a long moment of silence as Horatio slowly backed away and no one made a sound.

Finally, another soldier came out of the store and saw his stunned group of men standing around a vermilion haired youth. "What's going on here? You all look like you've just returned from a battle or something…" he asked.

The young man pulled himself out of his stupor and turned to the older man to escape Horatio's glare. "Sir, this lunatic here claims to be Captain Horatio of the First Battalion and is telling us to go with him! What should we do with him?"

The new comer, an older man with a graying beard and lines carved under his eyes looked at Horatio. Fortunately he had seen Horatio in person before. "My god you fool, are you blind!" he yelled at the young soldier who was now thoroughly confused. The leader of the small patrol hurried to Horatio and saluted him with utmost respect. "Please forgive me for the insubordinate and disrespectful behavior of my men! Your orders, Sir?"

AT this point the other soldiers realized their mistake and the young lad was especially distraught as they all lined up and saluted. Horatio sighed and shook his head, "Forget about what he said for now. I don't have time for this." He looked at the lad whose eye shot wide open behind his helmet as he stood with his back as straight as a board before Horatio. "You, redeem yourself by taking half of this squad and go to this address," Horatio gave the soldier the address of Miranda's store, "and arrest all suspicious character there. Remember, do no use lethal force, I want those men alive but make sure you catch all of them."

A few blocks down the street, a short burst of intensely bright light suddenly shot into the sky making many people point and gasp. "Damn, that must be him; at least now I know where he's at, come on!" Horatio turned back to the other men and started to run, "Hurry, we have no time to loose! Get a move on it!" with that he led the rather disjointed half a squadron and raced off down the street.

* * *

Caliban's face was wrinkled in a victorious expression as he swung his knife down. In his eyes was the reflection of Helios, reaching out with one hand in slow motion towards him. Their eyes were equally filled with each other's reflection until the shadow was suddenly erased in a flash of light. Caliban somehow managed to pull himself back in the middle of his strike, just as a whip of golden fire lashed at him out of nowhere and another spread to consume his quarry in a tower of fire that flew above the roofs of the courtyard. 

"What -!" Caliban glared at the pyre that had appeared from nowhere, the front of his shirt scolding from its sun-like intensity. Just as suddenly as it had appeared it sank down and burned low on the pavement. A figure stood in the center of the fire, arm out stretched and unaffected by the heat that the men were feeling.

Helios' face was hard in concentration and the heated wind from the holy fire stirred up silvery strands of hair into the air like a bundle of pristine silk. When Helios spoke her voice was no longer effeminate, instead unyielding and stalwart.

"This game ends now!"

He spread his palm wide open and a flash sparked from the center of his hand. The ripple of the light made the fire at his feet leap up and lunged toward Caliban and his men. Two arms of flames embraced them and settled around the men, enclosing them in a living wall of flames.

"I am not staying here to get burned to death!" one of the men screamed and reached out to escape the prison but the fire clawed at his bare arm and he retracted it with a painful yelp.

Helios lowered his arm to his side just as a loud crash of swords and boots rushed into the courtyard. Headed by Horatio, the soldiers stopped and gasped at the burning cage while Horatio rushed directly to Helios.

"You all right?"

"I'm fine," Helios slowly smiled but he suddenly stumbled back and the fire circle abruptly burned out. Horatio reached out, his hand on his back while Helios tried to reorient himself, his eyes half opened. The thugs though, saw the fire suddenly go out, immediately tried to make a run for it but the soldiers were ready and jumped on the men as they rushed for the exits. All of them, including Caliban were pinned down on to the cold ground and secured with sharpened weapons pointed at them in case they try to escape again.

Horatio put his hand on Helios' forehead and looked at his friend sharply "You're dripping cold sweating! What did you do?"

Helios opened his eyes as his head finally stopped spinning. "Nothing…Miranda-san and Ariel got away, I was trying to stall them." He looked at the Captain again "But what about the other three at the store? They might have gotten away-"

Horatio smiled and patted him on the back "I've already got that covered, now as for you," the red head turned his attention to Caliban "I think this big guys here can tell us some useful information." Horatio squatted down and looked at Caliban like a cat at a mouse "I do hope you're in a talking mood." Horatio grinned and Caliban looked away in shame.

While the bad guys were finally hauled off, Helios reached into his pocket and tossed Horatio's package back to him. Horatio caught it and inspected the opened package.

"So you used it huh?" he smiled sheepishly.

Helios watched as the guards pushed the last of the thugs out of the courtyard and looked back at his friend. He raised a curious eyebrow, "Why did you buy a fire cracker of all things?"

Horatio smiled mysteriously. He walked over to Helios and put his arm around his shoulder "You'll see later, but first we uh, need to talk about something else."

Helios gave him a blank look.

Horatio looked around to make sure nobody was within listening range said in a whisper "About this whole thing we just went through…let's not mention the part where we uh, got our bodies changed."

Helios' face blushed a little and he agreed with a short nod.

* * *

Ariel looked at his sister as they sat huddled under the bridge. He was squatting on the ground and the damp air was making his skin itch. Miranda was staring out at the river than ran in front of them with her chin resting on her knees. She hasn't moved much since they came to their hiding place and hasn't said a word either. 

"Onee-chan…" Ariel touched Miranda's shoulder gently and she slowly turned to look at him. There was a light patch of shadow under her eyes and Ariel would tell she was tired.

"What is it?" she said softly

"It's cold here…" Ariel admitted.

Miranda smiled and opened her arms "Here, it'll be warmer if you're closer to me," Ariel moved closer to her and Miranda wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "Better?"

He nodded against her chest and tightened himself in her arms.

"Miranda? Ariel?" a stranger's voice called to them.

The sibling's heads popped up but they didn't dare answer. "We're here to escort you home, you're safe now," the voice said reassuringly and soon after a shuffle of noises and metallic clinks, a soldier slipped down the embankment and peeped around to where the siblings were huddled. "It's all right, the bad people have all been caught. There's nothing to be afraid of now." He reached out a hand, waiting for one of them to take it.

Ariel hesitantly reached out first and the soldier carefully helped him, and later Miranda, from under the bridge. On the bank other soldiers helped them up and before long they were on level ground again when a cry made them look up. What they saw was Prospero jogging down the road as fast as his elderly body could carry him towards them

"Ariel, Miranda!" he shouted and after another few short breathes was standing beside the siblings. He held Miranda's shoulder, cupped the back of Ariel's head and pulled them to him, crying. "Thank goodness you two are all right! When the patrol men came, saying someone had broken into your store I was so worried!" He looked at them and asked urgently "Are you two both all right? Did you get injured any where?"

Ariel shook his head as Prospero's hand moved to his shoulder so he could have more room to speak. "But who told you we were here Prospero-san?"

"I have no idea." Prospero confessed and he looked around at the soldiers who were beside them still. "I asked them but none of them could or would tell me who sent the message!"

"It must have been Cesario-san then! He did it! He really did it!" Ariel shouted happily.

Miranda frowned, "Who are you talking about Ariel?"

Ariel quickly got a hold of himself and muttered "Nothing…"

Miranda then remembered something "Wait, what happened to Viola-san? Is she all right?"

Prospero gave her a confused look "I have no idea, was she the one who helped you, the same one I met earlier?"

"Yes, yes, but is she alright? She left to fend off those men!" Miranda cried urgently.

"Miss?" a soldier reached out and handed a note to Miranda. "I was instructed to give this to you by the orders of my superior."

Miranda stared at the note before tentatively reaching and opening the folded square of paper. Inside it said:

_Dear Miranda and Ariel,_

_Thank you for helping my friend and I when we were in trouble. I'm sorry but I cannot say this in person due to my circumstances, but please rest assure, I am doing quite well and do not worry about me. I hope the two of you will be able to live happily together always, because that dream is something you two have in common and perhaps we will meet again someday._

_Sincerely, V/C/H_

Miranda held the letter in her hand and felt tears pushing into her eyes as she sniffed and nodded to herself. "A dream shared between both of us…" Miranda folded the note and held it tightly in her hand. "Thank you Viola-san…" she smiled and wiped the tear away with her sleeve.

Turning to Prospero again, Miranda smiled deeply "Prospero-san about that offer you had been telling me about for so long, do you think it would be possible for us to work something out?"

Prospero's thick eyebrows shot up in surprise but his face quickly melted into one of joy. "Of course my dear."

Helios watched them as they talked by the riverbank, the sun beginning to set behind them, illuminating the tops of pale buildings like a forest of candle light. He was relieved and happy that Miranda had found room in her heart to change her life and for the prospect that Ariel's future will be brightened. But he also knew full well that, unlike the optimistic last line that he wrote, meeting them again as Viola or Cesario would probably never happen. Still, at this moment the happiness out weighed the sadness of parting and as Helios turned away to leave, he was glad he had preserved the dreams of two people on that day.

* * *

Finally after much delay, Helios and Horatio found themselves back in the palace. Getting back in was the easy part, explaining everything to Laertes was the hard part. Laertes had chewed out the two of them afterwards and Horatio took the worst of it. When Horatio heard he was going to loose half a year of pay for "reckless behavior" Helios honestly thought Horatio was going to weep from joy because he gets to keep his head but the Captain immediately switched expressions and grieved for the loose of his income. Ophelia was there while this transpired and she was giggling to herself the whole time. 

Horatio had saw to it that Caliban and his men spilled as much information about their mastermind as they could and it was well worth the effort. Quickly afterwards soldiers arrived at the door of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's residence. While the brothers may plead they are but the sons of an honest merchant, Horatio believed the judges would be more interested in the testimonies of their goons than their pledges of innocence.

Helios stood resting with his elbows against the railings of a palace balcony and thought about all this. It was had been a full day since they returned to the palace and everything's returned to its usual pace, with the exception that there was a new book, now tucked away by his bed. The guards were patrolling the castle still and servants bustled around even in the fading light of evening. A wind from the far off shores of the sea blew against the young man's tender face, lifting up strands of his hair and ran small waves over his sleeves.

Helios felt a cool tingle around his neck and lowered his eyes to see that the rose quartz pendent was still hanging around his neck. He touched the pendent then reached behind his neck and undid the clasps gingerly. With it now resting in the palm of his left hand, Helios rolled his fingers over the necklace and brought the hand to touch his lips while he lowered his gaze from the horizon. He stood with his hand there for a few seconds then brought it away and looped the necklace below his right hand again.

This is where it belonged on him, the only person who should wear it properly was his maiden and he will not challenge that thought.

The glass paneled door behind Helios opened and the uncrowned king turned to see Horatio standing there, smiling as usual. Behind him stood Ophelia and Laertes. The young woman with the lilac hair was smiling as well, unlike her brother who was wearing the stubbornly pokerfaced expression that was his trademark.

"Captain Horatio insisted on coming in unannounced Sire," Laertes said darted an annoyed glance at Horatio.

"That's all right, I don't mind." Helios smiled gently and Laertes relaxed a fraction.

Horatio rolled his eyes and Helios noticed the captain wasn't wearing his uniform and instead wore a plan civilian outfit that hid his rank. Laertes was not wearing his usual suit of office either and this puzzled Helios greatly since Laertes adhered to protocols and proprieties like a well-tuned timepiece that always struck on time. Ophelia was the only person among who wore her usual blue and white dress but her smile seemed brighter than usual and the faint lines around her mouth were completely relaxed.

"Are you planning to go somewhere?" Helios asked since that was the only possible conclusion that his mind could produce.

Horatio chuckled and walked closer to his liege. "Nope, but today the two of us are taking time off," He pointed his thumb toward Laertes.

"Time off for what?"

Ophelia smiled but didn't answer him. Instead she stepped up to face Helios, took out a small paper wrapped package that looked strangely familiar to him and held the opened package out to him. Helios looked and saw that there were four sticks of sparklers. He picked one up and looked back at Ophelia then Horatio and Laertes.

Horatio came up and picked one up, as did Laertes until all four of them had an unlit sparkler in their hands. Horatio fished out a small box of matches from his pocket and proceed to light each of the thin sticks of firework.

Helios watched, still puzzled as his own sparkler popped to life, shooting out bits of raw light that illuminated the now dimming balcony. "I don't understand, why are we doing this?"

Horatio winked at him and walked to the balcony's railing "You'll see."

Laertes stood beside Horatio and looked up at the sky "It should be starting soon."

Helios gave them a confused frown, which made Ophelia laugh. She pointed at the sky with her sparkler like it was a fairy's wand, seemingly at the stars, and whispered softly "There."

A sharp whistle went through the air, followed by a sudden burst of color and light showering down upon the city before them. Another whistle followed and another, one after the other a loud boom produced a burst of colorful flowers, a magnified version of what each of the four observers held in their hands.

These succeeding sprays of light again and again lit up Helios' astonished face until he realized he was gasping and quickly turned back to face Ophelia who laughing still harder.

"When we were kids we use to do this every year on May's Day Eve," Horatio explained with a smile as he twisted the stem of sparkler between his fingers, watching them sputter with drops of white ember. "I use to sneak out and buy the sparkler so we could have a miniature fire work show of our own." The memory brought a smile to his face. Even Laertes' eyes softened from behind his glasses.

"And he somehow managed to convince me to hide these every single year," Laertes looked at Horatio and a faint smile appeared on his face "To this day I still do not understand why I agreed all those times," he finished with a sigh.

Helios smiled and shook his head lightly. He looked back up at the fireworks going on above them and saw a red chrysanthemum-like fire splashed against the indigo sky. He looked back again and looked at Horatio conspicuously "But what was that other stick of firecracker for?"

Horatio laughed sheepishly and Laertes gave him an odd look. "Oh that, well that was just there for…other reasons…"

Laertes crossed his arms on the cool stone railing, closed his eyes and said in a low voice "You were not planning to set it off in my office by any chance were you?"

Horatio sweat dropped. He scratched his head and waved at Laertes with his empty hand "Why would you think that?" he said innocently.

"Because you've tried it before."

Moment of long silence

"…I have?" Horatio blinked.

Helios couldn't help it anymore and burst out laughing. The others started to laugh as well; even Laertes smiled at this joke, made at his own expense but he didn't seem to care. After the laughter waned, they turned back to watch the fireworks.

As the last half dozen fireworks flew up to their final destination, Helios stared at his dwindling sparkler and looked up to meet the eyes of the three people with him. "Thank you everyone," he said quietly.

They smiled back at him and four pair of eyes watched as the final and grandest firework raced to its place in the sky, spreading a bright radiance that eclipsed all its predecessors. Its golden petals lit up the sky, blinding out even the glow of stars in the background before fading into the cool dark air, softly like a whisper of night.

A/N Oh my God, I can't believe I wrote 40 some odd pages of this! I'm sorry part 2 is so long, I didn't want to divide it into sections (I think this story wouldn't work well if it's split into too many sections) so I just wrote the whole thing out, I wasn't expecting it to be this long _sweat drops_ . I hope nobody found this too weary to read because of the length, even though I'll admit the whole guy-change-into-girl thing was amusing to write about. Anyway, the senshis are coming very soon and now I'll need to put on my thinking cap and work out what I'm going to do next! Oh, one more thing, I will be going to Fanime (May 27th-30th) and will be showcasing some of my fanart at the Artist Row there. If you're going, then you're more than welcome to take a look at my stuff (I'm just showing though, not selling) and maybe have a chat. I'll be there over the weekend and sharing a table with my friend but I think it'll be fairly easy to find me (hint: look for the table with the multiple Chibi Usa/Helios fanart). _smiles_


	7. Complications and Reunion

**Act 5 "Complications and Reunion"**

The dark silhouetted Time Gate was opened and one step into that gate would complete the sojourn across space. Sailor Neo Moon stopped and looked at the bright light bursting from the gate. Sailor Saturn was walking right beside her when the sound of her princess' footsteps ceased to echo against the unfathomable width of the corridor. The Senshi of Revolution rested the bottom of her polished glaive on the cold marble floor and looked on ahead.

Sailor Vesta, who was foremost in front in the group of her sisters, almost walked into the silent senshi. "Hey, why did you stop all of a sudden?" she asked.

Saturn lowered her chin a fraction. "We're almost there."

The Quartet looked at each other and Sailor Juno walked forward boldly. "Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Her stride was quickly held back by Sailor Ceres who scrawled at her green haired sister.

"Idiot, we can't just go walking in there; we don't know what's waiting for us," she said before returning her out reached arm to her side.

Juno curled her lips in a pout while Pallas asked, "What do we do now Small Lady-sama?"

Neo Sailor Moon stared straight out at the shapeless white light and took a deep breath. "I don't know Pallas, I have no idea what Rhodes or Somnus is like."

"Who knows what's going to happen after we step into that world," Saturn said solemnly.

Ceres sighed dramatically, "I do hope this world is civilized enough to have shopping centers at the very least. I'd hate to be stuck somewhere where I can't even get a decent pair of shoes."

Vesta raised an eyebrow at this and said, "I don't think that's what you should be worried about Ceres…"

While the Quartet's talked, Sailor Moon's whole mind was focused on what she was there to accomplish. _He's there somewhere_, she told herself, and she was going to bring him back, take him back to where he belongs. Her gloved hands reached for the straps of her backpack and she gripped them tightly.

"Come on let's go, we've already come this far we shouldn't hold back now," she paused. "Whatever's behind this door we'll have to face it together." The young princess looked back at the Sailor Quartet and Sailor Saturn and they all nodded to her.

Looking back to the Time Gate, the crown princess of Crystal Tokyo took one step forward and with her second step she disappeared into the embrace of the gate's glaring light.

* * *

Blue bordered white shoes made small clicks on a clean marble pathway. Ophelia's figure passed against the backdrop of the palace garden with its clear view of the sky. The sun had not risen high above the horizon and the morning air was still cool. The grass, bushes, trees, and flowers however were already rejoicing in the sunlight that was beginning to wash over them. 

"Good morning Ophelia-sama! Coming to check on the roses again?" an old gardener's head appeared behind a nearby bush.

Ophelia smiled, "Good morning to you as well. No, I'm doing an errand for my brother right now." She walked a little towards the bush, her hands clasped in front of her, "Have you seen His Majesty? The chamberlain said he was walking towards here after breakfast."

The groundskeeper's face lit up. "Why yes, he came down this way a little while ago. Headed down that way. He goes there every morning. As for what though, that I can't say." He gave Ophelia a slight shrug.

"Thank you, that was very helpful." She said and left the gardener to his task, and headed down the lane the old man had pointed at.

Unlike the rest of the garden, which was mostly lawns and flowerbeds, this section of the garden was more secluded, with tall willows planted on both sides of the path to form a keyhole shaped ring. Arbors flush with dark green vegetation were erected at intervals over the path. The cool shade and the bell-shaped white flowers that dangle from the vines made Ophelia feel calm and unhurried, while stray patterns of sunlight are outlined by the shadows of the leaves over her head.

A marble gazebo stood at the end of the shaded alley, and from where she stood in the shadows of the arbors and trees the sunlight seem to come down in a solid column of light. The sunlight made the marble warm, like ivory. The four pillars supporting the structure glowed where the light washed down upon their outward facing sides. A figure kneeled above the small circle of shadow made from the roof of the gazebo. The gold-framed pattern on his coattail was spread out on the floor. His white hair and attire seemed to have formed from the marble itself in their compliment to the stone's warm color.

Ophelia halted her footsteps at the last arbor, her face in the light from the open canopy. She quietly gazed at her king as he had his back to her. _What is he doing?_ She wondered and watched.

A few more seconds past, with the calls of small birds as the only distraction audible in the otherwise silent garden. Ophelia thought that perhaps she should approach him when Helios stood up, his coattail flowing up with him. When he turned around and saw Ophelia standing there, he blinked as their eyes met. "Ophelia?"

Ophelia froze with her face illuminated at the edge of the circle. Helios walked out and the two of them stood bathed in the same column of light.

"Oh…uh, Laertes said he was too busy at the moment but he was afraid you might be late for the meeting so I came to look for you in his place," she explained, not moving from where she stood. Finally she lowered her gaze as embarrassment overwhelmed her, as if she had realized she had intruded upon someone's privacy. "I'm sorry if I had interrupted you," she said.

"No, I had just finished." Helios walked through the clearing and came to stand beside her.

Ophelia raised her eyes again and saw Helios smile at her before continuing down the pavilion. The girl with lilac hair followed him while she stared at his back. "Helios-sama?"

Helios looked over his shoulder. "Yes?"

Ophelia wasn't sure if she should ask but found that she can't quell her curiosity. "Were you praying back there?"

Helios' eyes drifted from Ophelia to the side before his eyes saw her again, "Yes."

"You have done so everyday, for a long time now?"

"I suppose. I have always done so…as far as I could remember." Helios turned his face back.

"Then for whom and what do you pray?"

Helios' gait quickened and Ophelia thought she heard him clear his throat uncomfortably. There was no reply to that for a long time until they were almost back out from under the awning of arbors.

"Something, someone important." The smile Ophelia saw on his face was fleeting. It was a smile that carried unspoken apology and secrecy. When Ophelia didn't ask a second question, Helios checked the time on the clock tower in the distance. "It's almost time for the meeting, thank you for coming all this way to remind me." The young woman nodded mutely and stopped walking, leaving Helios to continue on his own.

Ophelia's whisper thin brows tightened in a frown as she stared at the ground. She didn't ask because he wasn't going to say anything more even if she did; the way he had answered her was plain enough. Since he came back there had only been that handful of information Laertes had teased out of him. It was obvious to everyone he was holding back on what had happened to him during those missing years on Earth, but not everyone seemed bothered by it. Horatio never asked a word of it and Laertes had pried out enough so he could make up something for everyone else to believe. Even her father and his colleagues had not bothered to dig any deeper. Ophelia understood they didn't because they were too concerned about what was going on now to worry about the past. What was important was that he was here, now.

But that wasn't good enough to satisfy Ophelia's curiosity. Even though they had been getting along well with each other there was something missing between them, like someone had ripped out the middle of a book and handed her the ending. There was a gap she couldn't fill and couldn't ignore. Ophelia knew if she had been a bolder person perhaps she would have asked him much earlier, but she wasn't outgoing enough to do so. Only now was she beginning to feel comfortable to start inquiring about his past. She did not want to sound intrusive, afraid that he might shun her or even refuse to stay here afterwards. Yet she sincerely wanted to know what life was like for him on Earth, what did he do, did he like it there, a whole plethora of questions that she never really started to ask until a few minutes ago.

Ophelia twisted her clasped hand around the other wrist, feeling frustrated. _At least there is time, and maybe after a while he will be more at ease_, she tried to calm her disappointments. _Time is something I have._

* * *

Helios watched the brushed of clouds high above the window. Laertes was talking to him as they walked down the hallway, talking about something rapidly that slipped past Helios through his half-interested mind. 

"Your Majesty? Helios-sama?" Laertes' voice rose and this made Helios snap back to his present environment.

"Yes? Oh, I'm sorry, what did you say?" he asked hastily.

Horatio swallowed a giggle and looked away.

With Laertes and Horatio walking behind him, the three of them along with a small escort, were headed toward Helios' first official meeting with the advisors of the Royal Assembly. Thankfully the Assembly had allowed the Prince time to adjust before requesting that he hold a royal audience with all of them. This was especially necessary since Helios needed to catch up on many mandatory subjects related to the country. And although it was unsaid, this was in thanks to Polonius, who had been holding back his fellow advisors' requests with gentle and persuasive words, since he knew rushing Helios into the Assembly unprepared would be a bad idea.

Laertes' only reaction to his liege's distracted attention was a slightly deeper breath, but Helios had known the platinum blond young man long enough to know that this was his polite way of showing his irritation.

"Do you remember the names of all the Assembly members?"

"Yes, I do."

"Could you please reiterate they to me before we proceed."

Helios paused for a moment to collect his thought then did so as he was asked.

Laertes nodded at each answer and seemed quite satisfied.

"Hopefully the meeting won't last too long. I have to stand outside the whole time you guys are in there," Horatio said.

"I hope so too." Helios and Horatio exchanged hopeful looks.

Laertes' calm, foreboding voice quickly wiped their optimism away. "Some of the men we are about to meet were on opposite sides just months ago. It is a miracle just to have them sit at the same table."

Helios let out a quiet half-hearted sigh when him and his entourage turned to face the conference room door. Two servants promptly opened the large door for him and the group stopped.

"I'll be waiting here. Good luck." Horatio waved and stepped to the side. The rest of his unit spread out and joined the ranks of the four other guards who were already there.

Helios smiled at his friend and refocused on what lied ahead of him.

Laertes squared his shoulders and lifted his chin. Helios took a deep breath and stepped into the meeting room. The room was painted pine green and there was heavy accent of gold around the trimmings. The curtains around the large windows were drawn but the room felt heavy and severe due to the people sitting in it. A dozen men of ages varying between fifty and seventy years old sat around the thick oak table in the middle of the room. There was a closed glossy white folder in front of each person with the royal seal on the cover. The moment Helios set foot in the room they rose and bowed.

As Helios walked around the table he studied the older men. With the exception of Polonius, none of the advisors showed any expression. Some of them were thin and distinguished looking, with medals hanging off their expensive suits and jackets. There were a few whose faces looked as if putty had been adhered to their cheeks and hands. One had a frame so full he looked like a lump of soft wax that had melted into his chair and had struggled to stand up.

A servant pulled out the empty seat at the head of the table for Helios. After he had taken his seat the other ministers sat down. Thus with Laertes sitting to his right, Helios watched as each man opened his folder and the meeting was underway.

The first few items the men brought up were relatively predictable. There was discussion on which part of the country needed to be rebuilt first and fastest, how the taxes should be lowered in certain areas to encourage economic growth and repopulation and protecting land and waterways against bandits and pirates who have become open scourges during the war. The method with which these topics were introduced and discussed was formal and systematic. Anyone of the advisors could bring up a topic, introduce it to the Assembly, after which debate followed and in the end the discussion rested with the king, or rather, the heir apparent.

Laertes quietly studied the people in the conference room. The topic being discussed right now was about tariff and domestic tax changes, something Helios was in high favor of. This and a number of other matters went on fairly smoothly, something Laertes had thought might not happen. The atmosphere in the room was cool and the language being used elegant, controlled, and to Laertes' trained ears, carrying the ever so present tinge of harshness bred from ten years of conflict. Some of the advisors did not look at each other as opinions and options were stated. Some made small marked noises at the words of others but so far they have been ignored or else endured for the sake of peace and an attempt at harmony.

Initially, when Polonius first announced the idea of bring both sides to the Assembly table Laertes thought his father had lost his wits to old age. The Assembly required the advisors to be influential and worldly men who knew what they were doing. But the War had split many of these needed individuals into two camps and a decade was a goodly time to build up grudges and mistrust. Still, Polonius managed to not only to convince these men to come to the table together but to talk peacefully over things. To a certain degree Laertes had developed a renewed, if somewhat reluctant, respect for his father's people skills because of this. The man with his silver topped walking stick was after all the person who had gone to the oracle and gotten the news from the prophetess that Helios was still alive and had gotten the two feuding sides to agree to a truce.

But how long was that truce going to last though? These men most definitely have personal vendettas between each other. All of them are wealthy and powerful and Laertes knew Helios will need the support of if not of the whole Assembly, then at least a majority if he wanted to accomplish anything since Parliament can easily be persuaded if these twelve men wanted something done. Whatever happened, the bad blood between the advisors must be kept to a minimal here or else it could easily spilt over and influence the prince, the youngest minister in that room thought deeply to himself.

Laertes looked over at Helios while a bearded advisor with a tight voice was making his point. Laertes knew him as the ex-financial backbone and cousin to one of the leading rebel nobles. Helios would occasionally shift his amber eyes over to whoever was talking, to demonstrate that he was listening. Laertes sighed inside. _He should be fine as long as no one brings up that matter…_he thought to himself.

"With the implement I estimate the deficit will be reduced to a minimum. Allow me to be blunt but there is no better choice," the sixty-something old man smiled and cupped his hand, seemingly in amends.

Helios was silent and did not look up at the table from his deep frown.

Laertes coughed, his cool blue eyes looked at his fellow advisor from behind the steely frames of his spectacles. "I must say what you have proposed is quite ingenious Menteith-san, but we do not think that His Majesty has made up his mind yet."

The grin beneath Menteith's mustache twitched but he continued to smile as he addressed Laertes "Of course, of course! I meant no offence Sire." He said in a wispy kind of voice.

The young heir smiled faintly, his eyes dashed up once, then down again. "I know…I think that was an interesting idea you gave Menteith-san. But really, what of the plan I had proposed, can you not work that in with your own outlines? I believe that too is quite workable."

Menteith straightened his back and his smile broadened, making him look like a thin, grinning cat. "Your Majesty's idea was a good one, much better than some of the ones my peers have raised." His smile grew broader. "However it is a bit too early to put such a plan into action. The country does not have the stability needed for immediate tax relief and lowering the tariff will only decrease the national income which we will need for the reconstruction."

"But by delaying the assistance measures leaves the people to fend for themselves for much longer than necessary, in my opinion," Helios stressed and took his hands off the table.

"Unfortunately that is true, but for the greater good of the economy it will have to be done. If there is no stable market for the citizens to go to then they are just as bad off," Menteith explained.

Helios reluctantly nodded, "Very well then…"

Cornelius, the putty-like man shifted in his chair and pulled the corners of his thick lips up, forming deep groves by the sides of his mouth. "I think we have made a great deal of progress in our meeting today. Polonius my friend," Polonius turned cordially at him. "I think Parliament will find the decisions made here today just as enlightening as we found them to be, don't you think?"

Polonius only smiled.

Cornelius touched his nose and made a wheezing sound. "But for today I think we have finished what we set out to do." He reached into a pocket and dabbed his check with a silk handkerchief he had tucked away.

Valtemand, a broad shouldered man wearing an impressive red suit, turned his coal-black brows to the speaker. "The meeting has not ended just yet Cornelius."

The room hushed all of a sudden and several men shifted their posture. "Oh-is that so?" Cornelius swallowed.

Helios looked around, confused, then glanced at Laertes. Laertes was staring intently at Valtemand however and Helios thought his peer's face looked tighter than usual. There was palpable tension in the room and Helios was not truly surprised it had came from a person such as Valtemand, a general who had served for decades in the military. He had been on the Parliament wing of the successor debate and had seen plenty of raw action during the previous decade. It really wasn't hard to imagine the people here had been out to eliminate each other only months ago. Keeping that in mind, Helios turned his attention back to the general.

"I have something very important which I need to show you, Helios-sama," Valtemand met Helios' eyes and Helios found it hard not to flinch. Valtemand stood up from his chair and called for a steward to come into the room. After giving the servant instructions, there was a small ripple of speculative murmurs going through the room. The only people who did not participate in the ruffling were Polonius, Laertes, and Helios who only watched.

In a few minutes the servant, now carrying a giant rolled up canvas, followed by another with a tripod frame, came back in. The steward opened the canvas to reveal a giant map of Rhodes and its surrounding neighbors. The larger continent was to the left of the island and was covered in multi-colored blotches, denoting different countries.

Valtemand strolled to the front of the map, his hands behind him. "How many here have heard of the country of Macedonia?" Valtemand asked as he pointed to a small country colored green at the upper western corner of the map.

A man wearing a thin pair of glasses scuffed. "Of course we have, the Macedonians have been trading with us since the days of our earliest ancestors."

The general set on a pair of pointed glares at the speaker. "From what you say it sounds as if we should be very familiar with that country then?"

A unanimous nod and variant sounds of agreement answered him. Valtemand continued pacing. "Then I guess that means everyone here also knows that the prince of Macedonian, young Demetrius, took power after his father's death about a year ago?"

"Why exactly are you telling us what everyone already know Lord Valtemand?" someone said, "You are wasting His Majesty's and our time going off aimlessly like this. It is not habitual for a man such as yourself to dawdle."

Unexpectedly Valtemand turned around sharply and said precisely, "I do have something important to say. Let me ask one last question then; how many of you know how much land has been added to the Macedonian map since the enthronement of the new king?"

The room fell silent again and some of the advisors looked off to the side as if they had no part in this.

Valtemand smiled smugly and walked back to his map. "Well since it appears no one know, allow me to inform you then." Suddenly he pulled hard on the map and it fell to the ground to reveal another map underneath. This one however, showed nearly the entire upper portion of the continent now under one color: green. "As of last year Demetrius has expanded his country's boarder south to Attica and north to Thessaly. Two weeks ago his army reached the waters of Oceania." With that said Valtemand rested his hand on the back of his chair and scanned the room. "And now that he has tasted the salty winds of the sea where do you think he will go? What rich land lies beyond the sea that he can invade next?" he said slowly.

Polonius answered softly, "Rhodes." He met Valtemand's eyes evenly.

"But that is absurd! Macedonia has always been on excellent terms with us! They would never do something like that!" Someone laughed but the singular outburst died rather quickly.

Osric stirred for the first time on this topic when he sighed. "Unfortunately old friendships do not guarantee security, especially from an ambitious young man bent on taking over this side of Somnus. I have been observing that kingdom for a while now and their army is impressive indeed, especially the five Sarissa Captains whom Demetrius hold as his personal guards."

Lennox, a marquis from southern Rhodes, stood up. His chair made a sharp scrapping sound as it was pushed back suddenly. "What are you saying then? That Rhodes should get ready for another war?"

Helios' breath froze.

"That is exactly what I want to propose. There is no telling when that belligerent young man will come charging our way but I am positive he will come and soon. He is not going to walk by a bountiful place like Rhodes and do nothing. And since we are in a weakened state we must be on the defensive as quickly as possible in case he does strike first! We need to have the necessary equipment to defend ourselves. Increasing the patrols and lookouts on the coast and the addition of fortifications need to be completed in as little time was possible. I have men who report to me daily regarding the situation in Macedonia so we may be informed of their movements but more is needed."

"This is foolish talk!" An old man with a head of thin white hair stood up and shouted. "Valtemand you must be insane to think that Macedonia would attack us! If we do fortify ourselves, then what _will_ they think? Would we not be provoking a confrontation then? And think of the cost! There is not enough money in the treasury right now to do something of this magnitude so fast…it is impossible!"

Valtemand narrowed his eyes. "Oh? The treasury may not be enough but I know that the private holdings of some of you present here can easily surpass what's in the treasury by ten-folds!"

"You shameless buffoon, how dare of you! What proof do you have to make such baseless accusations! This is an insult to this Assembly and to His Majesty as well!" someone else stood up and shouts soon filled the room.

"Baseless accusations? It is common knowledge that those of you on the rebel side hoarded your property before fleeing!" a supporter of Valtemand said.

"You…!"

"Mentieth-san, Valtemand-san, everyone please," Laertes began to rise from his seat.

"Hush Laertes, you are too young to meddle in this!" Valtemand shouted.

Laertes didn't move for a second but he did as he was told and slowly sat down again, a dark look hung behind his glasses.

Finally Polonius stepped in and tried to calm the crowd. "Gentlemen please! Remember whose presence we are in, control yourselves!"

The men calmed a fraction but there was still a lot of spiteful looks and grumbling.

Polonius looked to Helios now and said, "I think we should hear what Helios-sama has to say regarding this matter and let the decide rest with him." He nodded.

Helios swallowed. He felt as if he had just been tossed out from a tornado and his mind could not piece itself together quickly enough to make sense of what had happened. "I…" he started and paused when everyone's bore their eyes into him. "I think Valtemand-san has a point but…I can also understand the tight financial situation the country is in." He tried to think clearly again but without much success. "For now let us work on a compromise…increase the security on the boarders, but the fortifications and increases in arms can wait a little while until we have better assessed the situation in Macedonia. What do you think?"

Valtemand and his supporters do not look completely happy, especially the general himself but they grudgingly agreed to the compromise.

After what seemed like a lifetime, the doors to the meeting room reopened and Helios, along with Laertes, walked out while Polonius stayed behind to smooth out the feathers of his fellow Assembly members.

Horatio quickly joined them. His eyebrows shot up when he saw the expressions on Helios and Laertes' faces. "I take it the meeting didn't go too well." He glanced back at the room "I could hear them shouting from outside."

Helios sighed heavily; his hand went to pull at his jacket collar. He had just realized how tight it felt around his neck. "No…it did not."

* * *

Ophelia ran her fingers over the top of a thick bush of cobalt blue roses. The flowers have been watered and droplets of water clung to the pedals and leaves, shimmering like tiny diamonds. Ophelia bent forward and smiled at the flowers. "It's a beautiful day today, don't you think?" she said. The air shifted, causing the pedal laden blossoms to bob slightly as if nodding their heads. Ophelia chuckled and looked back at the palace, her back touching the shadow of a nearby tree. 

"I wonder if the meeting has ended yet…"she said to herself.

A stronger breeze ruffled her dress and danced with a few strands of her lavender hair in the air. Her hand went to keep her hair from drifting into her face when unexpectedly the wind grew stronger, pulling up loose petals and leaves from all around her and sent them swirling towards the center of the garden. She had to close her eyes to keep the raising bits of dust and debris out.

Ophelia tensed. This was no ordinary wind. She was now feeling a static-like energy plucking at every nerve in her body. When Ophelia felt the wind lessened in intensity she opened her eyes but what she saw made her drew her hand away. A whirl of pink cloud appeared out of nowhere then the center of the cloud opened up and six people appeared. The cloud disappeared as soon as it had appeared and the winds died with it. Ophelia looked at the strangers through the curtain of falling petals, and saw they were all girls looking about the same age as her. One held a large glaive and four others had odd hairstyles wrapped in long tails or tied into tight round buns. The girl who was foremost amongst them was dressed in pink and white; her hair made to look like two stubby pinecones. All of them were scanning the garden looking lost.

And lost indeed were the Solar System senshis as they gawked at their new surrounding.

"This is a rose garden," Saturn said.

"Yeah and it's huge!" Vesta exclaimed. They walked forward a few steps and Ophelia cautiously walked towards them, careful not to approach too fast in case she alarms them.

Neo Moon whirled around and the pink ribbon on her back danced with her when she saw the palace. "Wow, if this is the palace it's huge!"

Ceres stopped and kneeled down to look carefully at the roses planted at the edge of the vast garden. "How odd, the roses here are blue, I've never seen that before."

The various chatters from the strangers reached Ophelia's ear but she was not close enough so it was hard for her to make out what any one of them was saying. She stayed close to a tree by the garden path and kept watch. Ophelia has no idea who these strangers were but the sensation she felt earlier was for sure emanating from them. Their presence kick started a new awareness in her mind and Ophelia felt confused by this unfamiliar sensation. _Who are these people?_ She kept looking at them but they still have not noticed her, too busy staring and looking at the building and the flowers. _It is better to be cautious around strangers_ she said to herself and decided it was time to make her presence known to the visitors.

"Who goes there?" Ophelia asked peaceably. She kept her stance relaxed and non-threatening but ready at the same time.

The group of strangers froze and the four girls with odd hair shifted nervously when they saw her. Ophelia looked at them seriously when their leader shouted, "Wait, guys!" She looked at Ophelia and the two young women made eye contact.

Ruby red stared into aquamarine blue. Neo Moon felt a light tangle in the base of her brain when they met but she nudged the sensation aside as she smiled. "My name is Neo Sailor Moon, this is Sailor Saturn, and they are the Sailor Quartet." Neo Moon introduced. "They're my friends and you just surprised us that's all, we mean no harm."

"Sailors? All of you are senshis?" Ophelia was amazed. That would explain the feeling she had felt. Since long ago she was known there were other senshis out there like herself but she had never met one before. Now there was six of them standing right in front of her.

"Yes, we are." Neo Moon smiled brightly and the Quartet relaxed a little.

"I see. My name is Ophelia, the caretaker of the blue roses. What is your business here then Neo Sailor Moon?" Ophelia smiled back.

Neo Moon wasted no time and said straightforwardly, "I'm here to look for someone and bring him home."

Ophelia blinked, "And who might this person be?"

"His name is Helios, I was told he was brought here to this country." Neo Moon answered honestly but she started to second-guess her words when she saw Ophelia's smile change into a concerned frown.

"You are…from Earth then?" Ophelia said, her eyes narrowing. Her brother had told her that the senshis of Earth had once helped Helios-sama, but what were they doing here?

Neo Moon seemed to sense Ophelia's reservations and considered her answer for a second before nodding.

Ophelia focused on Neo Sailor Moon and said in an even voice. "Perhaps you do not understand the current situation. Helios-sama is needed here; he cannot leave Rhodes. I'm sorry."

"But-" Neo Moon started but Vesta was in front of her, her hands above her hips.

"'I'm sorry?' Well, who gave you the right to make that decision? You people were the ones who dragged him here without asking first!"

"Vesta!" Neo Moon griped Sailor Vesta's arm "Don't say that!" 

"I had no choice." Ophelia said regretfully but Neo Moon could tell she was also determined that she had done the right thing by the steadfastness in her pale eyes.

Ceres piffed and said "Forget it, I think we should get in that palace, find him, and leave. We're wasting time talking."

Ophelia though, did not budge at the intimidation. "You intend to use force?"

The Quartet answered by shifting themselves forward while Neo Moon could only look nervously from Amazoness to Amazoness. _So much for coming in peace_, she thought. The princess wanted to step forward, ready to intervene but Saturn stopped her with her hand and picked up her glaive.

Ophelia stepped back, looking hard at the senshis she quietly said, "Very well then…" The Solar System senshis readied themselves when unexpectedly her hand went to one of the roses in her hair. Taking it up in between her fingers, Ophelia held the rose up into the air.

"Somnus Star Power Make Up!"

Blue light bled from the rose and poured down to cover Ophelia. The petals that had once been scattered from the opening of the time tunnel were stirred back into the air by the light and a cloud of shifting blue petals circled around the petite young woman. The Quartet stood with their mouths agape while Neo Sailor Moon watched with wide opened eyes. Her mother had told her about the Sailor Star Lights and of other senshis, but this was the first time the princess saw a senshi from outside her star system.

As Sailor Somnus appeared out of the cloud of petals, the transparent sash wrapped weightlessly around her arms rippled and the golden thread on her dress glimmered in the sunlight. The transformation was finally completed when the rose petals shot upward before drifting back down, as if a whole season of roses had all blossomed at the same time just to frame Sailor Somnus in her transformed pose.

"I must ask you to leave this place or else I will be forced to take further action," Sailor Somnus warned.

The spell of her transformation broken, the Earth senshis readied themselves again. Saturn looked at Neo Moon since the decision rested with her as leader. Neo Moon stared at Sailor Somnus. _She's series…_inside Neo Moon could feel the treads of Sailor Somnus' planetary power drawing at her and from that she knew she was facing a powerful opponent. Thinking back to her Pink Moon Crystal and the events that led to its evolution, Neo Moon made her decision.

"No, we won't leave, not without Helios!" Neo Sailor Moon answered back.

Juno grinned to herself. "All right then, let's see how much Mars-san has taught us!"

Without any further delay, the battle begun. Sailor Somnus made her move first and rushed the Quartet. "Gossamer Spurs!" The two ends of her translucent ribbon shot out at the four senshis like arrows and stretched far longer than its usual length. The Quartet scattered while Saturn guarded Neo Moon and the two of them jumped back. One end of the ribbon went after Ceres and Juno while the other continued after Pallas and Vesta.

"Empress's Gaze!" Sailor Juno closed her eyes and when she reopened them her shadow split into four and rose up from the ground to form four exact images of the green haired senshi. When the number of targets suddenly increased the ribbon stopped, confused by the five Sailor Junos.

Knowing this was her chance, Sailor Ceres crossed her arms in front of her chest and pushed them out towards the hesitating fabric. "Razor Blooms!" Orange-yellow flower petals rained from her palms down on the ribbon, pinning it onto the stone floor before it becoming motionless.

On the other end Sailor Pallas performed a quick summersault and out of reach of the ribbon but it went after Sailor Vesta instead. Sailor Vesta raised both hands into the air as she stood her ground. "Sacred Ember!" A red glow began to form above her and a fireball roared to life. It then split into hundreds of small red glowing comets, all aimed at the ribbon. Smoke rose when the embers skimmed against the fabric and Sailor Somnus quickly retracted both ends, scowled when she saw the damage the Sailor Quartet had inflicted.

Not one to give up so quickly, Sailor Somnus reeled back her ribbon "Gossamer Double Strike!" The two ends of the ribbon twisted together into a sharp lance and hurled itself at the senshis again.

Seeing this new attack, Saturn stepped up and raised her glaive "Silence Wall!"

The tip of the ribbon struck the opaque wall and the ribbon was knocked back and drifted limply to the ground.

"Ha, take that!" Vesta cheered

Seeing another one of her attacks repelled, Sailor Somnus retracted her ribbon. _They're strong, and there's six of them and one of me, I'll have to put them all down at once or else I don't stand a chance!_ She leaped into the air and was carried above the Solar System senshis where she hovered. She spread her arms out at ninety degrees from her body and cried, "Sapphire Mist Lullaby!"

A spiral of blue-violet dust fell from her opened arms and came upon the senshis like a blizzard. Not knowing what the powder was, the Solar System senshis covered their noses and mouths but a sudden drowsiness was quickly threading through their limbs. "Pallas is getting sleepy…" Pallas yawned.

"Damn, it's some sort of sleeping powder!" Juno shouted and struggled to keep her eyes open. Sailor Saturn tried to stand up right but her hand could barely hold onto her glaive.

Sailor Pallas, her head reeling back and forth in sleepiness, saw her sisters and teammates slump down on all four as their legs weakened. _Pallas has to do something to help!_ She managed to raise her hands and shout, "Aegis Manifestation!" A blue ball formed and expanded around her until it formed a doom over them. The potent sleeping powder drifted off the side of the protective covering and lost their effect. Inside the doom the senshis shook themselves and managed to stand again but their heads were still heavy. Neo Moon looked over at Pallas and smiled when she saw it was the young Amazoness who had saved her but she also quickly realized the blue haired girl was barely awake. Seeing this defensive maneuver, Sailor Somnus pushed harder by releasing more of the particles to try to blow through the shield.

"Don't fall asleep Pallas!" Ceres shouted and shook her sister when her eyes began to droop.

"Yeah, come on!" Juno cheered her on.

"You can do it!" Neo Moon said with her hand on Pallas' back.

While the Quartet were cheering their youngest member on, the battle had not gone unnoticed by the rest of the palace inhabitants. While Horatio, Laertes, and Helios were walking back from their meeting, a frantic servant almost ran into them.

Horatio grabbed the panicking servant and held him by the shoulder "Be careful where you're going! Do you know who you almost ran into?"

"Ah, I'm sorry Captain-and Your Majesty, but-but-!" the frantic young man stuttered.

Horatio let go of him and Laertes asked, "Why were you running? Did something happen?"

"Yes Laertes-sama, it's Ophelia-sama! She's in the garden, fighting!"

"What!" the three young men exclaimed at the same time.

"Tell me what happened, who is she fighting?" Laertes demanded.

"I-I do not know Sir! I was going to inform her that your meeting had ended, like she instructed me to, but when I reached the garden she had transformed and was facing a group of strangers! All of them female!"

Hearing this Helios had a sudden inkling just who these female strangers might be. Before anyone said anything more Helios had sprinted down the hallway, his coattail fluttering behind him.

"Hey, wait a second!" Horatio shouted while the servant kept talking.

"Also, when I last left her Ophelia-sama was being beaten back! There are five-no, six of them against her! I do not know if she can win Sir!"

Hearing this, Laertes looked sharply at Horatio "Horatio, call for your entire squadron now!" without another word he took off after Helios.

With another person running off on him, Horatio moaned, "Oh jeez! You heard him, go get reinforcement!" he ordered the servant. "The rest of you follow me!" he shouted at his men and dashed off.

The hallway went by as a shaky blur in Helios' eyes as he ran. All he thought about were the possibilities that had suddenly jumped out of nowhere. _If the Sailor Senshis have came to find me then she could be among them! If that's true then I have to stop them!_

Luckily for him the garden was only a short distance away from where he had been beforehand. Making a sharp right he came to the door that led via a wide set of stairs onto the front of the rose garden. He thrust opened the tall glass doors and it didn't take long to find them. The senshis were holding their stalemated battle in plain sight from the palace. Thus it also didn't take Helios very long to find a girl with pink hair standing in the blue bubble doom that Sailor Somnus was attacking.

"Ophelia stop!" Helios screamed.

Sailor Somnus twist around and saw him running towards her. She slowly lowered her hands and the powder disappeared as she floated down to the ground. Seeing Sailor Somnus step down, Sailor Pallas lowered her shield and slouched down onto the ground in a sleepy daze.

Neo Moon watched as the doom came down and faded to nothing. She took a relieved breath that ended in a yawn. Shaking the remaining bit of sleepiness aside she was further relieved to see that everyone was okay although they each look like they had just come out of a nap. It was only after knowing that her team was unharmed that Neo Sailor Moon wondered why Sailor Somnus had stopped attacking. She sought out the lilac haired senshi but saw her looking off to the side. When she followed Sailor Somnus' gaze the princess of Crystal Tokyo locked eyes with Helios. He had run down to where she was and now stood panting as his footsteps slowed to a halt.

Both of them simply stared at each, hundreds of thoughts now instantly flooding their minds, rendering them speechless.

Neo Moon's mouth parted slightly, part of her somehow not believing in the suddenness of their meeting while the other part tried to process everything she was feeling. _His' gotten taller…but, why is there a heavy line under his eyes? Has he been worried over something? Is it serious? It's been so long…maybe I should ask…no, I should say something else first. What should I say-? _

She was thankfully released from that predicament when Helios spoke first, "Chibi Usa-chan."

Neo Moon jumped and she startled herself. She blinked rapidly and everything she had been worrying about dissipated at his words. Seeing her reaction, Helios smiled gently. "You haven't changed."

The princess looked down and blushed. Seeing the two of them together, Sailor Saturn smiled to herself as she stepped beside Neo Moon. "Hello again Helios-kun-or rather, Your Majesty."

Helios chuckled and gave Saturn a sad look "Please Hotaru, not you as well." The two of them exchanged knowing smiles when Sailor Somnus, who has been observing this strange gathering, interjected.

"Helios-sama they-" she began but Helios gently cut her off with a raised hand.

"Don't worry Ophelia, they are my good friends. I think there must have been a misunderstanding between you." He looked at the two girls, "you came to look for me after you have somehow found out I was brought here, is that correct?"

Saturn and Neo Moon nodded.

Sailor Somnus lowered her eyes, her face now red after she has realized her mistake. "Forgive me Helios-sama, I should have been more tactful! And to you Neo Sailor Moon, I give you my sincerest apology."

Neo Moon raised her friends, looking slightly uncertain at seeing such a graceful and powerful senshi bow to her. "No, we were the one who should have explained ourselves more. It's okay, you don't have to apologize."

"We should apologize too…" Sailor Ceres spoke up meekly, evidently through her sister's prodding to be their spokeswoman. Everyone turned to look at her, her sisters crowded behind her. Ceres' hands were interlaced and she fidgeted a little as she said, "I…I guess I-we shouldn't have said that to you…sorry…"

Sailor Somnus smiled faintly at her and nodded "It was a misunderstanding, I understand now."

The senshis looked at each other and each of them smiled slightly.

Neo Moon sighed inside. It seemed that their biggest problem had been resolved. She turned to look at Helios but saw him throwing a heavy puzzled look at the Quartet. "Who are they?" he asked slowly. Inside he thought they looked extremely familiar.

"They're my senshis, the Sailor Quartet." Neo Moon beamed but her memories were quickly jogged and she realized she had suddenly been too careless in her enthusiasm.

_Sailor Quartet…Quartet…_In the back of Helios' mind where pieces of memories were hidden and stored, eerie girlish laughs echoed in a blackening dreamscape and whimpered behind the heat of a holy fire and the choking grip of a bridle.

Helios' face blanched and his tore gaze as if burned by what he saw.

"Helios, are you all right?" Neo Moon said softly as she tugged cautiously at his sleeve.

He paused before shifting back to her, manufacturing a brief smile. "I'm fine…"

Another set of footsteps jogged towards them and Helios saw it was Laertes with Horatio following not far behind. Laertes stopped a few feet away from where the group stood and proceeded at a slower pace. Horatio was not far behind but when he saw the situation appeared under control, he stopped to halt his troops then followed his friend.

Laertes looked from Helios to the transformed Ophelia, to the Solar System senshis, and back to his liege again. When he couldn't make sense of them, he asked, "Sire, may I ask who are these people?"

"Neo Sailor Moon and Sailor Saturn. Neo Sailor Moon is the crown princess of planet Earth. She and Sailor Saturn are good friends of mine," Helios explained to the two newly arrived girls. "This is Laertes, the Minister of the Interior and behind him is Horatio, Captain of the First Battalion."

Laertes nodded and bowed briefly to Neo Moon who bowed back. She looked over the blue clad young man and felt a little intimidated by his tightly controlled expression and curt manner.

Horatio gave a more amicable welcome when he approached them. Seeing the Sailor Quartet off to the side, he smiled. "And who might you ladies be?"

Horatio's smile instantly melted any of Ceres' shyness as she blushed and touched her cheek. "I'm Sailor Ceres, but do please call me Cere-Cere," she said sweetly.

Pallas smiled cheerfully, no longer threatening to doze off after the sleeping powder had worn off but Sailor Juno put her hand over her sister's mouth and introduced them both instead. "She's Sailor Pallas but call her Palla-Palla. I'm Jun-Jun but right now I'm called Sailor Juno."

Vesta looked at her sisters and smiled. "We're the Sailor Quartet, Neo Sailor Moon's guardians. My real name's Ves-Ves, but I'm Sailor Vesta right now."

Horatio blinked and Laertes turned his attention to them. "You mean you're senshis? Wow, and I thought Ophelia was the only one!" Horatio admitted frankly.

The introductions made, Helios turned to Laertes. "Laertes could you please arrange rooms for them in the palace, something fit for a highly honored visiting ambassador or dignitary."

Before Laertes could answer Sailor Somnus interrupted, "Please allow me do the arrangements Helios-sama." She walked closer to him and a few blue petals fluttered as her fuku faded away and she was Ophelia again. "I would like to compensate for my tactlessness earlier." She said earnestly.

"Of course, thank you Ophelia." Helios smiled at her and Ophelia curtsied. Neo Moon fidgeted and the young minister standing across from her saw her fret. Laertes closed his eyes and coughed. Helios sighed inside. _You have other appointments to deal with, now is not the time to get reacquainted_ Helios thought Laertes was saying something like that to him. Neo Moon seemed to understand too and she opened her mouth as if about to say something but then immediately decided not to. Sensing the disappointment in his Maiden's eyes reminded Helios of her namesake and his chest felt tight from the sudden guilt. He walked closer to the princess and said quietly so only they could hear, "I'm sorry, but I will find time for us to talk later. Please stay here for the time being."

The pink haired senshi nodded unwilling as Helios gave her a parting smile. To Ophelia he thanked her once again before reluctantly walking away. Horatio waved at the girls and followed Helios along with a silent Laertes.

Ceres waved back while Pallas smiled innocently at them and Vesta watched them off. Only Juno did not look so cheerful and wore a long face as she watched the three depart. Neo Moon and Saturn followed Helios with their eyes as he walked away. Inside the pink senshi felt as if someone had splashed her with cold water.

* * *

A/N Before anyone says anything I know this is kind of a disappointing reunion. The whole political meeting thing was really hard to write especially when you're trying to make it sound believable, and with my limited knowledge of Economics I hope I haven't made too much of a fool out of myself (sweat drops). I originally wrote more than this but if it were here then it'll be too long and the story would be developing too fast. But don't worry, the more interesting stuff is coming up fast although that means I have to put on my thinking cap because right now this story is only getting more and more complicated.

The Quartet's attacks were based off of their relative Greek/Roman mythological goddesses. Flowers are attributed to Ceres, sacred fire to Vesta, and the Aegis shield to Pallas Athena. Juno's was a bit odd since the only attribute I could think of to use in an attack was Juno's symbol, the peacock and how its feathers were formed from the eyes of Argus. So I kind of made the connection between eyes and illusions and gave Sailor Juno an illusion attack, if that makes any sense. On a side note, some of the character names I used were from Macbeth since Hamlet has a surprisingly limited cast of secondary characters that actually have names. I'm doing this so I don't run out of names and Macbeth is one of the few Shakespeare plays I'm more familiar with. As for Macedonia, Attica, Thrace, and Demetrius those are real places and individual people in Greece and Greek history. I just hope I haven't offended anyone by playing with history (smile & sweat drops). Anyway, please remember to tell me what you think by leaving a review!


	8. A Princess's Quandaries

**Act 6 "A Princess's Quandaries"**

"I hope you will find your room agreeable, Princess-sama." Ophelia said to one of the six gasping girls behind her.

The room she had led them into was as big as five tennis courts put together. Delicate gold borders ran along the walls and the chamber was painted a pale rosy hue that gave whoever stepped inside a subtle cheerful sensation. A canopy of beautiful brocade was draped over the head of a four poster bed. The bed itself was dressed with silk comforters, crispy sheets, and plenty of down-feather pillows. The furniture was polished and many have complex designs inlaid with precious metal or Mother of Pearl. A full-length mirror stood beside the ceiling-length closet, and a silver vanity set had been set out for the Earth born royalty. Seeing all this before her, Chibi Usa found herself speechless for a long moment before she could say anything.

"Wow!"

Ophelia smiled softly. "I am pleased to see that you like it. I had been worried since the preparations were a bit rushed because of the short notice."

Chibi Usa sweat dropped towards her kind hostess, "You really didn't have to go to this much trouble…"

"Oh, it's no trouble at all, this is what we as hosts ought to do, Your Highness," Ophelia answered equitably.

The corners of Chibi Usa's lips tugged upwards weakly, "It's all right, and please, you don't have to call me 'Your Highness' or 'Princess'. To tell you the truth, I'm not used to being addressed so formally all the time."

Ophelia blinked at the request, "Oh, of course, if you prefer that instead. But…" she hesitated.

Chibi Usa, as she realized in her moment of astonishment that her manners have slipped, quickly said, "My full name is Small Lady Serenity, but most people call me Chibi Usa."

Hotaru smiled. Now in a coal black one-piece dress and wearing a cute black string choker to boot, she looked like a regular sweet, young fifteen-year-old. "I'm Hotaru Tomoe, and they are Ves-Ves, Jun-Jun, Cere-Cere, and Palla-Palla." She extended a hand and reintroduced the Quartet.

"Ophelia-sama," Palla-Palla raised her hand and everyone including Ophelia turned her eyes to the blue haired girl. "Will Palla-Palla get to have a pretty room like Small Lady-sama too?"

Jun-Jun bobbed her sister lightly on the head and frowned disapprovingly, "Silly, you're not the royalty here!"

"Jun-Jun don't be so mean!" Cere-Cere chided her sister. "I in fact agree with her. This room is very much to _my_ liking," Cere-Cere murmured to herself as a thought bubble appeared above her head, in it was herself surrounded by handsome male servants treating her like a queen.

Jun-Jun and Ves-Ves sweat dropped.

Oblivious to her sisters, Palla-Palla drooped her head in disappointment, her round cheeks puffed up like two tiny puffer fish.

Ophelia bent down slightly to look into Palla-Palla's big baby-like eyes. Her voice was soft and soothing as she spoke to the Amazoness. "I think you will like your room very much, Palla-Palla. Just remember, if you need anything feel free to ask me."

"Really?" Palla-Palla's small cherry lips curved into a smile.

Ophelia nodded and smiled like a kindergarten teacher. Palla-Palla's face immediately brightened again as she squealed happily. "Thank you Ophelia-sama, you're so nice!"

Ophelia chuckled adoringly before looking up, and said to the girls as a whole. "If you don't mind, I hope you will join me for a tour of the palace after lunch."

"Oh, that would be great," Chibi Usa answered.

Ophelia nodded and said to Hotaru and the Quartet "In that case let me show you your rooms now." She looked back at Chibi Usa and curtsied, "I wish you a good afternoon then, Chibi Usa-sama."

Her skirt too short to return the curtsy, Chibi Usa bowed instead, and after exchanging a smile with her hostess, watched as Ophelia led her friends out.

The door closed with a soft click and Chibi Usa stood alone facing the silence of her room. Her plain sailor collared white top and blue plaited skirt made her look like a lost tourist in this grand palace. Only the senshi broach sitting inside her shirt pocket reminded her otherwise. A clock ticked from some corner of the room and the curtains moved beside the open windows. Without her friendsbeside her the room felt extremely hollow. Chibi Usa gulped as she scanned the impressive room once more and decided it was more productive to unpack than to keep gawking at her quarters. Studying the bed, She pressed one finger into the fabric and her fingertip sank under the light pressure. Somehow the prospect of this welcoming bed made the princess feel relaxed for the first time since she hadarrived here. Chibi Usa took her backpack off and unzipped it. In the rush to get here she had taken very few belongs with her, none more important than the picture frame she's carried over from the 21st century.

Chibi Usa held the picture frame carefully in her hand and ran her thumb lightly over one of the eternally blossoming bronze roses. After all this time she could finally deliver it to its intended recipient. The princess wondered if he had changed since her last visit to the 21st century because when she saw him in the rose garden she had been too utterly shocked to make any detailed observations. All she could do was stare without actually looking. Right now she ought to be happy. She had seen him and knew he was doing well here. But she didn't feel happy at all.

Thankfully, her dismal brooding was broken when a gentle rap came from the door and Hotaru's voice reached her ears. "Chibi Usa-chan, may I come in?"

Chibi Usa jumped up from the bed and went to open the door for her best friend. "How's your room Hotaru-chan?" she asked while ushering Hotaru inside.

Hotaru sat down on the edge of the bed and said, "Mine isn't as big as yours but it's very nice except I do keep on feeling this weird sensation…" Chibi Usa looked at her, baffled, and Hotaru shrugged it off. "It's probably because of the new environment. Still, I like my room since I'm not use to living in extremely large quarters."

"But isn't your palace on Titan really big though?" Chibi Usa blinked and she pushed herself onto the bed.

The black haired girl only smiled. "It is, but when you're all by yourself the bigger the space the lonelier you feel, so I prefer a small room. But this should be perfect for you; it's even more gorgeous than the crystal palace in some aspects. I think you ought to ask the queen to take some advice from whoever designed this place and make your room more princess-like. The color of the walls suits you really well," she winked.

Chibi Usa giggled, "I didn't know you were into interior decorating and such, Hotaru-chan!" she said in mild surprise.

Her friend chuckled sheepishly in return. "I've been talking to Michiru-mama. Being in the Outer System all the time is pretty monotonous so I talk to her a lot. You should have seen what she did with the Triton palace, and what happened when she tried to get Haruka-papa to redecorate her palace as well." Hotaru's giggling grew louder and Chibi Usa found herself truly surprised.

"But I thought you were all alone guarding the Outer Solar system…I felt bad for a long time because you were always stationed on your home planet."

Hotaru sighed but gave Chibi Usa a reassuring smile. "It gets lonely yes, but I am never truly alone. Michiru-mama and Haruka-papa are out there with me and we can always talk with each other and keep each other company. True loneliness is having no one to talk to at all. That would be a very sad thing." Hotaru's voice dropped a little and she seemed to be thinking about something when she noticed the framed picture sitting beside her. She gingerly picked up the frame and her eyes widened curiously, "What's this?"

Chibi Usa blushed crimson. She looked down and muttered meekly, "It's…for Helios."

The shade of red on Chibi Usa's face deepened when she saw Hotaru grin knowingly "I see." She returned the frame back to her friend and looked out at the window. "Helios-kun seems to be quite well here. I was really worried when the queen told me he had been kidnapped, but I feel more relieved now, seeing that he's doing okay."

The blush faded from Chibi Usa's face and she frowned. Seeing her reaction, Hotaru moved closer to her princess and touched her shoulder. "What's wrong Chibi Usa-chan?"

Chibi Usa paused. She slipped off the bed and put the precious but much delayed present on the bedside countertop. Outside, the fresh hilly air stirred with the life of the palace. Below them the people of Elsinore went about their business under a cloud free sky, unaware and unconcerned of Chibi Usa's worried gaze. "There's something that I don't understand…" she turned her back on the scenery and looked back into the room.

"What is it?" Hotaru looked puzzled.

"…Why he didn't come with me?" Chibi Usa sighed and turned around to face Hotaru. "When I was coming to Rhodes I fully expected Helios to jump back to Earth with us the minute I saw him. But he didn't, and I can't understand why. Since he cares about Elysian so much, why doesn't he want to leave?"

Hotaru's face was relaxed as she walked around the bed to stand beside the window. "You should ask him then."

"Ask him?" Chibi Usa repeated.

Hotaru's purple eyes were tranquil and she nodded. "Helios-kun is the guardian of Elysian and he is a person who takes his duty very seriously. He wouldn't abandon it no matter what. But right now he has decided to stay in Rhodes, a place he was taken to by force. There has to be a reason for it, a strong reason. It's just that we don't know what it is."

Chibi Usa considered this, "You're right. He wouldn't stay here if he didn't want to. But I wonder what his reason might be…"

At this question Hotaru could only shrug. "It's hard to tell, maybe he feels responsible to remain here since he's suppose to be a king, right?"

The tip of Chibi Usa's eyebrows dipped inward "Maybe…"

* * *

"Well I for one vote this as one of the most ironic things that's ever happened in the history of the universe!" Ves-Ves moaned and she plopped down on her bed. 

She, like her sisters, were out of their fukus. Now they wore short sleeveless dresses in colors that were identified with them individually. The Quartet have gathered in Ves-Ves's room after they had each been given her own room, all four of which were connected to each other. Compared to Chibi Usa's room theirs was plainer, without the gaudy decorations and shiny trimmings. But that was not to say these rooms had nothing to boast about. The sheets were made of satin and the curtains were clean as snow. The furnishings were made out of solid wood and polished brass handles. Though the décor wasn't flashy, the guestroom was grand enough to resemble the presidential suit of a five-star hotel.

"Why would you say that?" Cere-Cere responded "If we didn't then I-I mean we-would never have a chance to live in such a beautiful place!"

Ves-Ves pulled herself up and glared at Cere-Cere, who was standing with her arms crossed at the foot of the bed, Palla-Palla perched beside her. "Yeah well, in case you had forgotten, the whole point of this mission was to retrieve the guy and go home." The red head raised her thumb and pointed behind her figuratively in that direction.

The flower magician wasn't done yet and she retorted, "I'm only saying we should try and enjoy ourselves since we're here already. 'Finding the best in any situation' is my motto."

"Really? I thought it was '_getting_ the best in any situation'."

A stress mark popped over Cere-Cere's smooth forehead as she continued to argue with her red haired sister. Palla-Palla watched them quibble, her head going back and forth between the two, like she was watching a Ping-Pong match. It wasn't until her neck got sore that she noticed Cere-Cere and Ves-Ves were the only ones talking. Off by a window Jun-Jun was standing by herself, a worried look on her face. Leaving the arguing pair, Palla-Palla walked over to Jun-Jun and touched her arm.

"What is it Jun-Jun?" Palla-Palla asked innocently.

Jun-Jun's eyes shot up and saw it was Palla-Palla looking at her. She shrugged and scratched her nose "Nothing…just thinking to myself…"

Ves-Ves and Cere-Cere stopped their quarreling when they heard Jun-Jun say this. "Jun-Jun, you haven't said a word since we got here. It's unlike you to be so quiet," said Cere-Cere.

Jun-Jun fidgeted and the corner of her mouth dipped as she looked at the others. "It-it's just that I feel bothered by something…"

"Why is that?" Palla-Palla asked, her finger touching her cheek in a thinking pose.

"Is it about Helios?" Ves-Ves asked, her face no longer irritated, but she wasn't exactly smiling either.

With three pairs of eye set on her, the green haired Amazoness nodded, "Did you guys notice what his reaction was when Chibi Usa first introduced us?"

"Well, not really, he didn't say anything to us." Ves-Ves looked to Palla-Palla and Cere-Cere.

"Palla-Palla was looking at Small-Lady-sama and Ophelia-sama when the oodles of other people came," Palla-Palla said.

Cere-Cere looked up thoughtfully as she tilted her head a little, "Well, I was still a little hazy from the battle at that time," she looked down again, "but if he didn't say anything what's wrong with that?"

Jun-Jun scowled and shook her head. "I'm not talking about what he said." She recalled the moment in her head and frowned. "He turned pale after he heard the princess introduce us…I think he remembers us from our Dead Moon Circus days, and I don't think he likes seeing us here."

A stiff silence dropped like a lead weight into the room. After a few hollow minutes Cere-Cere's voice startled everyone.

"You're worrying too much Jun-Jun!" She declared. The other girls blinked as the flower magician walked forward and smiled, "Think about it, we're senshis now. If you think he would slant us because of our past we'll have the princess stand up for us. He can't kick us out either, because we're Small Lady's guardians, we have to stick with her."

Jun-Jun groaned and rolled her eyes "I'm not worried because he might treat us badly, and if he did want to kick us we wouldn't be living here in the first place." She paused, "Even though he doesn't say anything, he must hate our guts."

"Yes, but…what makes you so sure? For all you know he could be a very forgiving person." Cere-Cere crossed her arms, determined not to let her optimism be affected.

Ves-Ves sighed loudly, not having much faith in Cere-Cere's suggestion. "Really? Let's see, we only helped to destroy his home, hunted him down, kidnapped his host, handed him over to Queen Nehellenia, tried to keep him as our pet, and almost got him killed all the while trying to steal the Golden Crystal. Do you need another reason for him to hate us?"

"Palla-Palla also put a bridle on him," the doll faced girl added weakly.

At this point not even Cere-Cere could argue back. She dropped her arms to her side and cringed uncomfortably. No one spoke again. It wasn't the thought of being badmouthed or slanted that upset the Quartet; rather it was the thought that they have not been able to fully detach themselves from their former life. They were so sure everyone had forgiven them. The original senshis, Chibi Usa, and of course Neo Queen Serenity had all embraced them into the fold, and it felt good to be thought of as the good guys, to be treated as trustworthy friends. But their hopes for a new beginning was splintered when they realized they have to face the most important person in their princess's heart whom they once searched for by destroying people's dreams. Now it seemed that hope was about to be completely shattered.

"Jun-Jun, Ves-Ves, Cere-Cere," Palla-Palla said softly. The other girls looked at her listlessly as she said, "Palla-Palla doesn't think Helios-sama is a mean person…Even though we did so many, so much bad things to him and he doesn't like us, Helios-sama didn't do anything mean to us." The three other Amazoness listened more attentively now. Palla-Palla smiled "That's why Palla-Palla thinks if we can make him see we're not bad girls any more, he will like us."

"So what you're saying is…to be friends with him?" Cere-Cere uttered slowly.

"I guess that's what she means…I mean, truth to tell, I feel really bad about what we did to him." Ves-Ves admitted reluctantly.

"Me too," whispered Jun-Jun.

Palla-Palla nodded and looked at Cere-Cere.

The pink haired Amazoness sighed and acknowledged hesitently, "Oh jeez…well, I do too…but I say we should gage his reaction to us a bit more. Maybe he was just startled to see us. Perhaps with time he'll forgive us."

"Let's hope so," Ves-Ves uttered gloomily.

* * *

In the afternoon as the sun hang lazily over the west. The girls followed Ophelia down the ivory white hallway, past the oddly shaped windows as she told them about the functions of the main rooms on each floor and noted some of the more interesting items they walked past. 

The whole time Chibi Usa found herself looking often at her guide than the things that were being shown to her. The princess's first impressions of this lavender haired young woman seemed to be enforced every time she looked at her. The way Ophelia walked was light but well paced, like a metronome. Her posture was impeccable, just like her smooth pearl-like skin and cool sky-blue eyes. Despite the heavy European feeling to the palace, Chibi Usa thought the Mandarin-styled dress fitted the girl exceptionally well and made her stand out from the midst of gold and marble.

"Small Lady-sama," Palla-Palla's voice brought Chibi Usa's focus away from her silent gazing.

"Huh? Oh, what is it Palla-Palla?" She blinked and smiled at her young guardian.

Palla-Palla spread her arms, "Doesn't Small Lady-sama think this place is super pretty? Look at the windows!" she pointed.

"Oh, yes I see." Chibi Usa looked around and in fact noticed for the first time the place Ophelia had led them to. It was the Compass Chapel, and the small tour group stood in the wide center isle. Since it was the wrong time of day, without the rich evening sunlight the strained glass windows Palla-Palla was pointing at wore a lighter version of their respective shades.

"I've seen the churches and cathedrals in Europe with Michiru-mama and Haruka-papa while they were on tour. This place really reminds me a lot of a palace chapel," Hotaru said in awe to Chibi Usa.

"Palace? The crystal palace has walls made out of glass like those! This one's made out of stone except for that one with the pretty window." Palla-Palla stated.

Ves-Ves twisted her lips a little and said "But it's not as bright here with the stone walls. This reminds me more of those old medieval castles you see in movies. But shouldn't there be scary dungeons and stuff?"

Jun-Jun swallowed nervously, "What do you mean?"

Ves-Ves give a small shudder, "You know, like in those movies where there'd be dungeons, ghosts, secret chambers and stuff in a castle."

"Mmm, Palla-Palla doesn't like ghosts!" Palla-Palla ran behind Chibi Usa and peeped out from behind her.

Cere-Cere scuffled "Don't be silly, there's no such things as ghosts and secret chambers. Those are just B movie ploys, used for cheap side effects. Besides, a real palace isn't dark or spooky, you're just scaring yourselves!"

"Actually that's not exactly true," said Ophelia reflectively.

The Amazoness huddled closer together. Even Cere-Cere gulped visibly, "Really? There are ghosts here?"

Ophelia gave a quite glance to the right of the palace but said, "Ghosts no, but there is a door…"

"With a skeleton behind it?" Jun-Jun jumped at the conclusion.

Ophelia sweat dropped at the Amazoness' imagination and explained, "No, not that either. In fact there is nothing behind the door." She recalled in her mind a plain stone doorframe with dusty stone doors. The tin colored stone panels opened with a loud creak, only to reveal a solid stone wall. "It was discovered inadvertently one day, in the last level of the palace. There was nothing special about it except it was rather large, about the same size as the entrance to this building. As I recall, the door is set against a wall cut from the rock that the palace is built on. There were no cracks or lines to suggest a blocked passage, so it was clear there was no hidden passage behind it. Some people thought it was a half finished doorway that had been forgotten about but no one's sure since there's no records about it."

After Ophelia finished talking, no one else spoke. The dead silence made even Chibi Usa and Hotaru feel a tiny shiver in their spines.

Seeing her guest react to this, Ophelia quickly said, "Don't worry, other than that there is nothing unique about it."

"That's good…"Cere-Cere quietly sighed a breath of relief "Simple is good sometimes."

After that the girls continued their tour, with no more questions about hidden doorways or secret chambers. After touring for another hour or so, Palla-Palla yawned and touched Jun-Jun's arm. "Palla-Palla is tired. Can Palla-Palla go take a nap?"

"Sure, go ahead." Jun-Jun replied but Palla-Palla didn't let go of her arm.

Palla-Palla's big round eyes darted to the end of the long hallways they were in. The hallway was wide but there were no windows and the only light came from the doorways on either end. "…Palla-Palla doesn't want to go back by herself," she whimpered.

Ves-Ves gulped. She could just imagine how long and wide their walk back was going to be. And what if they make a wrong turn and end up at that weird door, and then it suddenly opens up and swallows them…

Ves-Ves grabbed Jun-Jun, pale lines running past her green eyebrows. "We-we might get lost, Jun-Jun why don't you come with us?"

Jun-Jun seemed to understand why her sister wanted to drag her along. Looking down that hallway, she nodded reluctantly. Seeing the others about to leave and not wanting to get left behind, Cere-Cere quickly said, "I'll come too then."

Hotaru chuckled and thought that perhaps it was best if she went with them, in case they do get lost. Thus, she looked to Ophelia and said "I feel a bit tired today as well. Ophelia-san I hope you don't mind if I go with them."

Ophelia nodded "That's fine. I can show you the rest of the palace at another time."

After the black haired girl excused herself, she began to walk away with the Quartet. Before she left she smiled at Chibi Usa and turned away.

Chibi Usa watched Hotaru go. Behind her, Ophelia spoke up politely, "Chibi Usa-sama," Chibi Usa turned around "if you don't mind, I would like to show you the rose garden, if you're not tired that is."

Chibi Usa looked at Ophelia and thought it would be rude if she left too and on second thought she wanted to talk to Ophelia for a while longer herself. "Oh, sure…" she answered and Ophelia smiled.

* * *

Before long, the two young women were walking through the palace garden. Now Chibi Usa got her first good look at the sea of blue roses, a fitting description as the patches of neatly trimmed roses stretched out as far as the eyes could see. 

"You're very familiar with this palace Ophelia-san," Chibi Usa said as they walked. "Some times I would get lost in my own home."

Ophelia smiled brightly, "Thank you, but the truth is living here makes it easier for me to perform my duties. My estate, the home I was born into, is in fact outside the city. Still, I like it here the best."

"That's right, you said you were the Caretaker of the Blue Roses. Does that mean you are responsible for taking care of all of these flowers?" Chibi Usa wondered. To her it seemed it must take an army just to keep one section of the flowerbeds well groomed. It appeared impossible that one person could be in charge of taking care of the single dominating plant species in this vast garden.

Ophelia acknowledged this bashfully and said, "Officially my title is the Caretaker of the Blue Roses but the truth is there are a lot of other people that water and take care of them." She knelt down and touched the bud of a nearby rose bush. "I check on them everyday to make sure they're happy and strong."

"You can tell if they're happy?" Chibi Usa wondered.

"Yes," Ophelia gently touched the blue and green bud like she was stroking an infant's cheek. "This little one for example was planted very recently, its roots are still getting use to the new soil. Overall though, it is doing very well, but we'll have to be careful not to water it too much or else when it blossoms the edge of its petals will brown."

As Ophelia said this Chibi Usa saw a softness in the girl's eyes. It reminded her a lot of what her mother, Neo Queen Serenity, looked like when she kissed her goodnight each evening. When she looked closer, the princess realized that Ophelia did remind her a lot of her mother, or rather that she realized Ophelia embodied all the qualities she believed a lady ought to possess. Ophelia's gentle demeanor, her grace, her warmth, so well sculpted together that it was hard to believe that she was not a princess.

At this time Ophelia chuckled and Chibi Usa was pulled out of her thoughts. Ophelia stood up and surprised Chibi Usa when the Earth princess saw a rueful smile on the other girl's lips. "You must think it's very odd for a person to speak in such manners about a simple rose, Chibi Usa-sama. But the truth is the rose to me is more than just my daily charge." Her skirt shifted as she turned to look out at the field of roses, taking a deep breath "My powers as a senshi comes from the roses. I inherited that ability from the previous Sailor Somnus, and with that power I could manipulate the roses to my will. These are no ordinary flowers, they have very potent powers with in them. The sleeping powder I used during our confrontation were drawn from these very flowers." She paused and waited for Chibi Usa's reaction.

"Really? That's amazing!" Chibi Usa blushed slightly "I've never heard of a senshi being able to do anything like that."

Ophelia stared "You…you are not angry then?"

"Well," Chibi Usa frowned slightly but she smiled to reassure Ophelia. "I can't blame you for your reaction. If it were me, I probably would have done the same thing." Her hand lower to her breast pocket and she could feel the star shaped brooch through the fabric of the shirt. "Our duty as senshis is to protect people right? We're working towards the same goal so we're in a way comrades and if you would like, friends."

Hearing this Ophelia couldn't help but give a wide-open smile. She nodded slowly in consent, "I feel honored to know someone has called me her friend."

Ophelia's face was so calm as she said this but her elegantly curved lips and oddly melancholy eyes made Chibi Usa wonder. For a while now, Chibi Usa had sensed Ophelia was a shy person. Yet she has been nothing but warm and hospitable to them, even talkative. But whenever their group walked pastservants, the servants would only greet them solemnly and never look up when they spoke. Ophelia though, would politely returned the greeting each time, but despite being courteous, Chibi Usa also felt a sense of reservation, as if she wanted to say more to them, to get to know them. However, by then the servants would have already left.

A drop of pity rippled in Chibi Usa's heart. The most obvious answer to the servants's reaction would be because of Ophelia's senshi status. As far as Chibi Usa could tell, everyone here knew Ophelia was a senshi. As the princess knew from her high school experience in the 30th century, some people worshiped her while others purposely distanced themselves. The mystery and unimaginable power a sailor crystal held can be too much for some people and create illogical fear. That's why when confronted with the owner of such power, they react by trying to ignore that person. With that on her mind, Chibi Usa heard Ophelia speak again.

"You remind me a lot of him," The lilac haired young woman said to herself.

"Who?" Chibi Usa blinked.

Ophelia's smile deepened "Helios-sama," she looked at the princess. "Both of you are very good-hearted and compassionate people." She looked up at the sky and her blue eyes shone from the memory. "Since I was still as a child he's been nothing but kind to me, despite how I was when I first met him."

The weight of those words came as a surprise to the princess as she stuttered, "You're a childhood…friend of his?"

Ophelia nodded and when she smiled, her cheeks flushed. "It was a long time ago but I can honestly say those years hold some very pleasant memories."

Chibi Usa found herself smiling emptily in response "Oh…" She thought she should be happy that Ophelia was friends with Helios, that makes all of them friends, right? But being childhood friends, that also changes things…doesn't it?

The feeling nagged at Chibi Usa the rest of the afternoon. After the garden tour had ended, Ophelia had offered to escort her back to her room, but Chibi Usa had said she could find it on her own. But Chibi Usa didn't in fact go back to her room. Instead, she walked aimlessly through the palace and as the sun began to set, stood looking out at the city from a walkway. Beside her, ornate columns supported the roof and the wind swept gently in from the sea to dance around her.

Chibi Usa felt extremely lost as she looked at the unfamiliar metropolis below her. She thought she should do something to distract her confused mind but she didn't have the energy or will to do anything right at the moment. The air around her felt emptier than usual, like she was standing in a breathable vacuum while her head was stuffed full of questions and thoughts, hissing incoherently like an old, broken down TV. But after Ophelia had told her of her childhood friendship with Helios, two thoughts stood out from the black and white static. Ophelia's blushing smile and Helios' face when he first saw her flashed repeatedly in the back of her mind. The two images fused and Chibi Usa could see them by each other's side, smiling.

Chibi Usa rubbed her temple with one hand and shook her head but the thought didn't go away. She moaned and furrowed her brows, then rested her elbows on the cream-colored stone railing when a voice called her name.

"Chibi Usa-chan."

The girl in question did not need to turn to see who had called out to her. She'd heard his smooth, leveled voice countless times in both dream and reality, but no matter how many times it ranged in her ears, actually seeing him always drew an iota of surprise from her. Now it also helped to clear some of the mental static that had been badgering her as she looked up to meet his eyes.

The two of them stared at each other for a second that felt much longer in their minds. Both of them seemed out of place in the other's eyes. Chibi Usa wouldn't help but wonder how is it that the quiet priest she had known was able to fit into that outfit and wear it with an odd air of propriety. Helios couldn't believe that the crown princess of Crystal Tokyo, dressed like an ordinary high school student, had somehow found her way into this removed kingdom at an unknown corner of the universe.

Chibi Usa broke the silence first and smiled, but found she didn't know what to say. Helios in turn lowered his eyes and approached her. Once he was standing beside her, he looked up at her again. "I was looking for you. I'm sorry I couldn't talk to you earlier."

"It's okay, I understand. You were busy," Chibi Usa gave him a sympathetic smile.

"I had two other meetings this afternoon. The first was to assure everyone that the country was not in danger of a sudden invasion," he smiled wearily at her.

Chibi Usa could hear the humor behind his words but from the way he phrased his sentence, she wondered why people would be worried about being invaded. She was about to ask when she saw the weight Helios had in his otherwise bright eyes. Skittering away from that topic, she instead said, "Did you know, when Mama and Papa have to attend meetings, sometimes they would both claim to be sick? Unfortunately that doesn't usually work with Luna."

Hearing this, Helios chuckled. During his brief stay in Tokyo he had gotten to know the couple much better than before, and it came as no surprise that the blonde woman he used to refer to as "princess" would do such a thing.

"Yeah…" Chibi Usa smiled but it soon faded away "they were really worried about you when we found out you were gone," she said unwittingly.

Helios exhaled softly, head bowed before he asked, "How did you find out I was here?"

Chibi Usa glanced at him and found him looking at her. Looking into those familiar eyes, she remembered the Voice's warning. It had warned her about a treat to Helios but Chibi Usa can't decide if she should tell him of that. "I-I was going to visit you in Elysian," she began slowly "But when I got there I couldn't find you. Then the Voice told me you were here so I-"

"Voice?" Helios interrupted.

"Yes, she-at least we think it's a she-told me you had been brought here. I wouldn't have believed her if it weren't for the fact that this isn't the first time she's spoken to us." Chibi Usa's eyebrows creased together, "She was the one who told Mama to send my back to the 21st century. She also warned Sailor Pluto that we were fighting Wise Man, and told her about an impending treat, that that was the reason for my crystal's evolution."

Helios thought about this but could come to no conclusion with the limited amount of information. "Did she tell you anything else?"

"Just that you were here and…um…" Chibi Usa fidgeted uneasily. Helios looked at her quietly but inside he was growing nervous at her hesitance. At last Chibi Usa decided it was better to say it out right than to keep it to herself. "She also asked me to protect you, to keep you from loosing your priesthood."

Helios gave her a completely baffled look as Chibi Usa tried to explain further. "I'm not entirely sure of her meaning, but I think she meant that while here, there is a chance that you may loose the right to be the Priest of Elysian."

Helios thought about this and his eyes darkened. "…Whatever she's trying to say, this person seems to know quite a lot," he said at last. "Not many knows of my existence, but as for loosing my priesthood…that I can't be sure, because as far as I know there is no way for me to annul my title."

"How can you be sure though?" Chibi Usa asked uncertainly.

Helios tried to recall how he knew that fact but frustratingly his mind came up blank again. "I don't know, I don't remember…but I just know somehow…"

The pink-haired girl scowled. _So does that mean the Voice lied, or that she wasn't as all knowing as we first thought?_

Both of them didn't speak for a while after this as both pondered about this matter. But without additional information it was hard to keep focused, and soon their minds have drifted off.

In Chibi Usa's mind, thoughts about the Voice gave her mixed feelings. She felt angry with her for telling them what to do, but at the same time oddly grateful. If the Voice hadn't interfered she would never have gone back to live with Usagi, never met her old friends, and never realized she had fallen in love. But what has their love come to? Waiting punctuated by moments of happiness followed by more waiting. Now despite being in the same place and time, they stood away from each other, their hands tucked close to their sides. Has happiness been delayed or was it in reality toying with them? Could his decision to stay here be the tragic revelation destiny had been waiting to show them?

Helios glanced secretly at the princess beside him. Her face was turned to its side, away from him, and it didn't take much to see that her spirit was downcast. Helios could guess why she was acting this way since by coming with five other senshis, it was clear to him that they came with the intent to rescue him. Now that that plan had literately been turned on its head, Chibi Usa has no idea what to do or how to properly react. He imagined her frustration had been suppressed most of the day for she had been distracted, thanks to Ophelia. But being with him now had reopened the floodgates to the portion of her mind that had been drowning in thought earlier. Helios had a lurking feeling that any more it will spillover and sent tears flowing from her eyes.

He was familiar with tears and why people shed them, but to this day he had yet to learn how to stop someone from crying. With Chibi Usa especially, he dreaded the thought of her in tears. When she cried, he felt guilty, either angry with himself for causing her pain, or for not being able to stop whatever was making her heart from aching, or worse, both. Now was no exception. He wanted to do something to prevent her from crying, to keep the dam from breaking so unconsciously, he decided to break the silence that had been feeding her pensiveness instead.

Helios rested his right hand on the stone railing and fiddled with the silvery chain dangling there. "How have you been?" He watched her pick up her gaze at him in response.

Chibi Usa saw his hand and the necklace laced below it. "I should be asking you that." She smiled quietly. A spark of guilt was beginning to burn inside of her as well, and she could feel it grow bigger the longer she stared at him. "Just a few months ago I was in Elysian saying goodbye to you. Now I'm standing beside you again and you look three years older." She sighed and said half to herself, "Time is such a weird thing, I wonder how Puu gets it straight at all."

Helios smiled faintly, knowing what she meant and answered, "Time is not important, what's important is that our promise came true."

Yes, that promise. Chibi Usa remembered it vividly since to her it wasn't half a year ago that she had hooked her pinky finger with Helios and they had sworn to see each other again. But when the memory of their promise came up, Chibi Usa felt herself swagger slightly.

Helios must have seen her waver, because the next thing she knew he had taken her hand. She blinked in surprise, breaking the twin bead of tears that had formed at the edge of her eyes. Looking up she saw Helios' eyes, and was surprised again when she saw guilt in those golden orbs.

"I'm sorry that I made you worry." He said and his grip on her hand tightened.

Chibi Usa shook her head, sending the two loose strands of hair by the side of her face swing in the air. "It wasn't your fault! You don't have to apologize…"

"But I do! Because I can't go back with you…at least not yet"

Chibi Usa froze inside. She demurred, then said the single word that had been plaguing her since she first laid eyes on him here: "Why?" She asked as gently as she could, for both his and her sake.

Helios took a deep breath and exhaled just as deeply. He looked back out at the city and Chibi Usa stood by him, still holding his hand, standing closer together this time as he began. "I don't know if you already know about this, but until recently there had been an intense ten year long civil war raging in this country."

Chibi Usa's eyes widened. She blinked and that gave Helios his answer.

"The war started as an controversy regarding who will inherit the throne. The young heir had vanished sometimes before, and soon afterwards the reigning king and queen had passed away in a great fire of unknown causes," Helios paused. "I am that missing prince."

"So the king and queen who died…were your parents…" Realizing what she had said, Chibi Usa wanted to slap herself for being so thoughtlessly, but Helios made no reaction to the comment. She knew he was a missing prince but she hadn't thought about the possibility that he had a family.

"Even though the people here found me and brought me back, I don't have any memories about this place. At first I couldn't believe any of it despite what people told me. It wasn't until…" Helios hesitated, the burnt out room flashed in his mind. He didn't want to tell Chibi Usa about that place, it was too heavy a secret to share with her right now. Perhaps later on he will let her know, but not right now.

"The point is, I realized I don't remember anything outside of Elysian. In all of my earliest memories I could only recall images of the temple and the surrounding lakes and forests, nothing else. But there had to have been something before that, and I think the answer is here, in Rhodes. There are people here who remember me when I was young, clues that might tell me something. That's why I've decided to stay here and search through them and find out as much as I can about my past."

It was clear to her now. Chibi Usa felt a calm inside of her. Helios had trusted her to understand and she felt reassured by his trust. Still, a sense of pity grew in Chibi Usa as well as guilt for having been silly enough to have other notions regarding his reason for staying.

Her thought must have been reflected on her face because Chibi Usa felt a gentle grip on one arm and a hand on top her other shoulder. Helios leaned in and kissed her on her forehead. It was a feather light touch but it was enough.

"I'm sorry Chibi Usa-chan, but there is no telling when I can resolve this matter here." Helios admitted with a sigh, his white and her pink bangs intercrossed as he looked down to see her face.

"Helios…" Chibi Usa reached over and placed her hand over Helios'. She smiled at him reassuringly, "I understand now. It's something you have to do. I can wait, and help, and we will go back to Earth together when it's done."

Helios smiled and slipped the hand he had on her shoulder and offered it to her. "Thank you Chibi Usa-chan…But before that, would my maiden like her necklace back?"

Chibi Usa took his hand and saw her necklace wrapped around his wrist. Now sight of the necklace made Chibi Usa feel warm and light as she touched the pendent, like fizzy champagne bubbles was swelling up inside of her. A big smile spread over her lips and her face glowed as if she had actually drank a few glasses of spirits. Holding his hand still, the princess whispered, "Remember that present I wanted to give you?"

Helios nodded as they stepped closer to each other.

"I'll be sure to give it to you this time…"

"There she is!" A voice suddenly cried from behind Chibi Usa. After she nearly had a heart attack, the pink-haired teenager whirled around only to see Palla-Palla standing in the hallway entrance, beaming brightly. "Palla-Palla found Small Lady-sama!" she shouted.

The other three Amazoness girls appeared soon after. "So that's where you've been all this time!" Ves-Ves cross her arms "we've been looking all over the place for you!"

Chibi Usa blinked, still not quite recovered from the shock Palla-Palla gave to her heart. "Looking for me? Why?"

"You've been gone for nearly four hours since we left you! We all thought you had gotten lost somewhere! Hotaru is still looking for you." Jun-Jun frowned.

"Oh" Chibi Usa said weakly as the Quartet walked towards her.

There was the sound of an uncomfortable cough and Chibi Usa heard Helios say, "You should probably go then Chibi Usa-chan," he said from behind her, "Hotaru must be very worried about you right now and you know her constitution isn't the best." Chibi Usa turned and was about to suggest they go together when she felt a slight pressure on her shoulder, but his hand was gone before she could reach for it. As Helios turned away, he smiled at her "We'll talk some other time." He then gave an unreadable glance at the Quartet and walked away in the opposite direction.

Perplexed by his sudden departure, Chibi Usa thought she should follow him but he was already gone. When she looked back the Quartet were silent and they were exchanging knowing glances with each other. Since the Quartet were never this quiet, the princess knew something wasn't right. Standing under the setting sun, it seemed that just as she was getting some answers, Chibi Usa had ended up with even more problems.

* * *

A gold colored crystal floated above a pedestal, a perfect cube hovering effortlessly against the force of gravity. Its polished sides reflected the light that came from long lancet windows in a spacious octagonal room. The lancets framed a view that showed the land breaking off into the sea, with the sound of breaking waves rhythmically repeating over and over. A person stood smiling in the shadowy periphery of the room created by the setting sun as he gazed at the crystal. 

His attention was interrupted by the soft shifting of air that accompanied the opening of a door. At the sound, the figure looked to his side to reveal sunlight tainted icy white hair.

"Demetrius-sama," a balanced voice asked from the doorway.

"How is everything doing, Iolite?" the white haired figure turned and his twin sea-blue eyes went from the crystal to the tall lanky figure.

The roof's edge kept the sunlight from illuminating the door and only the subordinate's shadowy outline could be seen. Iolite's voice was respectful, but it carried no distinguishable emotion, which made it sound slightly mechanical in its response. "The preparations and assignments have all been completed, Sir. All units are ready to set out at a moment's notice. We are standing by now to await your final orders."

"Good. In that case, we will set out in exactly two hours."

Iolite retreated and the blue eyed man smiled. His princely face went to observe the fading light coming from over the sea and he said aloud to himself, "I wonder how beautiful the sunset will be if it were seen from Elsinore..."

* * *

A/N As you can probably tell by that last bit, the story will be picking up soon. Right now I am finding this story harder and harder to write because as I have to relying more and more on original ideas and not follow the Sailor Moon canon as closely as I did in "Return to the Past". I must have written this chapter over three times and I'm still not too happy with it. All I can say is I did my best. On a side note, summer vacation will be ending soon and I'll be busy with a new school year. Hopefully that part of my life will go smoothly and I can find time to brainstorm and write. Still, I wish those of you who are also returning to school the best of luck in the coming school year and thanks for reviewing and supporting me! 


	9. The Tea Party Alliance

**Act 7 "The Tea Party Alliance"**

Chibi Usa's groggy crimson eyes opened to see a solid beam of light filtering through her window instead of the familiar sunlight scattering into rainbow pieces through a crystal wall. Pushing herself up against the cushiony mattress, Chibi Usa was lost for a second before the sweet foreign scent of the room told her that this wasn't home, but somewhere far in the universe. The picture frame stood by her bedside, one corner touched by the sunlight that spilt over the table top it sat on. Chibi Usa smiled as she looked at the faces of her friends and families. The evening before, Helios had explained a lot of things to her and that knowledge made her less anxious. Still, looking at Usagi and Mamoru's picture now, Chibi Usa hoped they wouldn't be too worried about her, since it seems it would be a while before she can go home.

Turning her eyes away from the picture frame, Chibi Usa saw something by her bedside she hadn't noticed the day before. A cord of silk rope with a wooden handle attached at the end was attached to the wall through a small hole and lever. Curious, she gave it a tug but nothing happened. Chibi Usa shrugged and was pushing the blankets aside when a knock suddenly came from behind the door.

"You ringed, Your Highness?"

Chibi Usa gasped and hurried to get off the bed. "Just a minute-!" In her rush, her foot caught in the low hemline of her borrowed nightgown and before she knew it, her weight had carried her over the side of the bed.

WHAM!

The door clicked opened and a docile maid stepped in to see that the crown princess of Crystal Tokyo had fallen flat on her face.

* * *

Chibi Usa sat lacklustered in front of her mirror while a maid helped her do her hair. Her nose was thankfully unbroken but it was red and made her look like she was having a bad head cold. In her head she reprimanded herself, for she should have known that the handle was for the purpose of calling for servants. But living in a high tech palace where all summons could be done by a word or a movement, the old method of tugging a bell had escaped her. Chibi Usa sighed at the absolute fool she had made of herself only a day after her arrive here while the maids around her went about making up her room. 

The young woman standing beside her heard the depressed sigh and she spoke up in a polite voice, "Are you all right, Your Highness? Would you like some warm tea before your meal or perhaps prefer to dine in your room instead?"

Chibi Usa smiled "That's alright, I'm fine thank you. I'm not hungry just yet."

The maid nodded, "Very well then. Breakfast is ready in the East Wing dinning room. Please ring us when you are ready and someone will escort you there." The servants backed away, bowed, and left the room.

Chibi Usa surveyed the room. The bed was made, her hair had been put up, the troublesome nightgown was folded and put away, and there was nothing else for her to do. Chibi Usa sighed. She stood up, picked up a brush and absently started brushing her long pig tails, more out of a morning habit then the need to smooth her hair down. Coming to stand by a window, she leaned to look out at the city. White smoke drifted out from the chimneys of houses below her, forming thin columns of pale clouds. _Chimneys, now that's something you don't see much of in Crystal Tokyo_, she thought to herself. But the thought suddenly made her realize how different this place was from her home.

There were no lessons to attend, no training to participate in, and nothing else for her to do here. She was a state guest, a visiting foreign dignitary (at least that's the official story, so she's been told) but one who was not here to talk about trade or politics. With no official obligations to perform, Chibi Usa thought about the unofficial duty she had taken upon herself the day before: to help Helios with uncovering his past.

_Hmm, how should I start? It would be rude to ask the servants what they know, and people would get suspicious if I ask too many questions. But what if…_A person with curly lilac hair flashed in Chibi Usa's head. It was obvious this person would be a good help in her quest but the princess hesitated. Though Chibi Usa could tell Ophelia was no ordinary young woman even if she wasn't a senshi, she had impressed and intrigued the pink haired teenager. However by enlisting her help, Chibi Usa was worried what it would do to their newly built relationship should she ask Ophelia to divulge her sacred memories with a stranger.

Coming to no feasible conclusion on her own, Chibi Usa sighed. _Better talk to Hotaru-chan and see what she thinks first._ A tight gurgling noise groaned from her stomach and the princess blushed. _But before that, breakfast!_ She thought sheepishly to herself.

* * *

Ophelia breathed in the fresh morning air and watched with pale azure eyes as gardeners trimmed and watered the flowerbeds around her. All morning she had been supervising this activity as the palace prepared for the annual spring tea party to which she would have to attend. But what was on the young senshi's mind was not the party or her duty as the overseer. Instead it was of the princess from Earth with whom she had spoken with the day before. 

Initially Ophelia had felt pleasantly surprised by the combination of Chibi Usa's demureness and determination. After their chat her personality and demeanor had interested Ophelia still further. For a senshi and highly regarded member of the court, Ophelia had found it to be very rare for someone around her to be so casual. But the biggest reason why the foreign princess had stayed so heavily on Ophelia's mind was that she had offered her friendship so soon after their encounter.

Ophelia could recall the friendly smile Chibi Usa had shown her. At one time she thought she was fated to never have friends as her mind drifted to a time long ago. The details in the room was brown and faded like an old photograph left out for too long in the sun. The echoes from that memory were muffled but were distinct enough to be recognized as the voices of children. A pair of watery light blue eyes watched the short figures as they stood away from her in one area of the room while toys lay scattered on the floor.

"My nanny said I should stay away from her or else I'll get her bad luck," somebody whispered.

"That's what my nanny said too. She said it was because of her that her mother died," replied someone whose features were long lost to time.

In the bichromatic background someone cried, "I want to go home! We always have to play inside or else she'll get sick! It's not fair! I don't want to come here again! "

Ophelia opened her eyes and the memory vanished. She touched her earring and gently fiddled with the gold ring that connected the long slender crystal to her earlobe while her reveries continued.

_Helios-sama…_

Ophelia looked up at the sky and watched a flock of white birds fly past overhead_. What happened back on Earth that made him so secretive?_ Ophelia found herself thinking about that question again. Since the day he came back the question had nagged at her, even more so yesterday when she found him praying in the garden. _What happened to him while on Earth? Why does he tell us so little?_ The existence of such secrecy made her worry not only because what it leaves to the imagination but also because of the fear that it might do Helios harm somehow and she simply couldn't bring herself to dismiss that.

The only people who might be able to answer some of the questions she had were Chibi Usa and Hotaru. Helios had introduced them as his friends on Earth but Ophelia felt that somehow Helios was closer to Chibi Usa than any of the other people who came from Earth. As to just how close they were…Ophelia frowned but decided that it was not her business to pry into and closed her mind against it. However, Ophelia was almost completely certain that Chibi Usa was the before mentioned senshi who had helped him once. In which case she should know the most about Helios during his time on Earth.

Not wanting to abuse her newfound friendship, nevertheless Ophelia knew this was the only possible way she might finally uncover something about those lost ten years and that the princess will understand her earnestness. Looking at the preparations for the tea party going on before her, Ophelia sighed softly to herself, "I hope she will be coming to the party today."

* * *

After making sure that her stomach will not protest for the time being, Chibi Usa began looking for Hotaru. The problem was, in a palace this big how was she going to find her friend? Just as she stopped to ponder this question Chibi Usa felt a sharp bump on her elbow and luckily caught her balance before another embarrassing mishap was able to take place. 

"Oh I'm so sorry Your Highness!" A maid said quickly. In her arms was a pile of neatly folded white table-clothes that very nearly hid her meek face from view.

Chibi Usa smiled and waved her hand, "No, I should be the one apologizing. I shouldn't have stopped so suddenly."

The maid returned an unsure smile, bowed as best she could with her burden, and continued on her way past the princess. Chibi Usa watched the maid as she left and noticed that there seemed to be more servants this morning compared to the day before. But this phenomenon became nothing more than a passing thought when Chibi Usa realized that instead of opening every door she came across, it would be much faster to ask someone to escort her. Chibi Usa turned around back down the hallway and soon enough spotted two maids, each carrying identical baskets coming down the hall towards her.

"Excuse me," Chibi Usa walked up to the maids, one with ash blonde hair and the other with wine red hair, who were quietly chattering with each other.

Two pairs of eyes turned to her and their conversation ceased. For a fraction of a second they silently surveyed the stranger when their eyes went open with realization and they made a rushed bow, "Your Highness!"

Chibi Usa offered them a weak smile, "Um, I was wondering if you could lead me to the room of one of my friends. Her name is Hotaru Tomoe, she's a petit girl with the short dark hair."

The girl with ash blonde hair gave her companion a small nudge. The other maid's eyes dashed from her companion to the princess, obviously fascinated and uneasy at the same time before she was finally able to reply, "Oh yes, uh just a moment please Your Highness!" The flustered red haired maid stacked her basket atop that of her friend's before bowing again and said, "Right this way please!"

"…Okay" Chibi Usa mumbled and followed the maid. They quickly turned around the hallway, and Chibi Usa found herself recognizing some of the places she had walked past the day before when Ophelia was giving her the tour. Before long she walked into a sunny hallway and the maid stopped in front of a pair of ivory colored doors.

Chibi Usa knocked and after a few seconds Hotaru opened the doors

"Good morning Hotaru-chan," Chibi Usa greeted her best friend cheerfully.

Hotaru smiled before ushering her friend in, "Morning Chibi Usa-chan."

Chibi Usa walked into Hotaru's room but not before the maid said, "Your Highness, I will be waiting outside should you need anything."

"Oh sure, and thank you," Chibi Usa replied somewhat belatedly. The maid bowed yet again and retreated to the side of the door

Hotaru watched as Chibi Usa thanked the maid and resumed their conversation once her friend turned her attention back to her direction. "Did you sleep well last night?" she asked.

"Mmm, pretty well…although it's not quite the same as home" The cotton-candy haired princess confessed bashfully. "Say, did you have breakfast yet?"

Hotaru nodded "I woke up early and took a walk through the palace before I had breakfast. I'd just came back to my room and was planning on finding you when you came." The two of them sat down in the armchairs positioned beside the bed and looked across a small square table at each other.

Chibi Usa fidgeted a little in her seat as she thought about how best to say what was on her mind. "Say Hotaru-chan…I want to talk to you about something," she said in a quiet voice. Hotaru, her violet eyes focused, nodded as Chibi Usa began, "I found out the reason why Helios has decided to stay here."

Hotaru's expression tightened but nodded for her friend to go on.

Chibi Usa hesitated as she pieced together what she wanted to say. Slowly, she gave her friend an outline of what Helios had told her the day before and told Hotaru about her wish to help uncover his past.

"Hmm, so what do we know already that will lead us to something?" Hotaru asked.

Chibi Usa sighed dejectedly. "Not much. Helios doesn't know any more than we do."

"Is he trying to find something then? We need to start off somewhere."

"No he isn't…" Chibi Usa admitted.

Hotaru sat back in her chair and gave Chibi Usa a puzzled look, "That's odd, I wonder why Helios-kun has remained so passive all this time? He had plenty of time to start asking questions."

At this Chibi Usa answered, "He's probably too shy to ask people questions like that."

_Is it really that though? For something so important would Helios sit by and do nothing?_ But Chibi Usa chose to ignore the tiny stray thought and decided it was time to get to the heart of her conversation.

Taking a more sober mood, she looked across the table at her friend. "You are right about one thing though Hotaru-chan. We do need to start from somewhere and I think Ophelia-san could help us." Hotaru nodded attentively. "She was childhood friends with Helios and must know a whole lot that we don't. Maybe something she knows could provide us with a clue somewhere. The thing is though, I'm not sure if she would be willing to speak to us on this matter and I certainly don't want her to think we're being nosy."

Hotaru smiled approvingly at her friend's suggestion. "Whatever the case, let's put the question to her and see how she will respond. Ophelia-san might be able to help us know where to look."

"But we'll have to find her first. She said she lives in the palace but I have no idea where," Chibi Usa said.

Hotaru looked up thoughtfully, "Well, we could always ask someone."

"Hmm…" Chibi Usa twisted her lips thoughtfully when she remembered seeing Ophelia with Helios the day before. Her lips twisted a little harder at the image but it evaporated when she looked at Hotaru, "I think Helios might know where she is."

"Oh?"

"It's just a hunch," Chibi Usa answered briefly before she stood up and opened the door to find the maid dutifully standing by. Seeing the royal guests, the maid turned toward them and Chibi Usa asked "Excuse me but where might I find Helios?"

"Helios-sama?" the red head maid thought about this for a second. "Well…his private apartments I suppose. That would be in the east wing two hallways down from the Hall of Illumination."

"I see. Thank you for your help." Chibi Usa smiled at the maid and Hotaru nodded her gratitude as they began to walk away

Back to Hotaru, Chibi Usa said, "Oh, I almost forgot. I haven't said good morning to the Quartet yet, let's go see them first."

Hotaru nodded. "I know where they are staying, I only hope they're out of bed already." Chibi Usa chuckled and the two of them set out to find the rest of their travel party.

Seeing the two guests have found other diversions, the maid breathed a sigh of relief. Turning around to return to her chores, she almost squealed when Laertes stepped out from the corner behind her, his eyes looking down the hallway.

"Oh, good morning Laertes-sama!" the maid hastily bowed.

Laertes kept his eyes on the two disappearing figures at the end of the hallway. "Were you by any chance listening to what they were saying?" he asked without looking at the servant.

"I-" the maid gasped, "I would never do something as improper as eavesdropping on His Majesty's guests, Sir! Honest, I wouldn't," she answered earnestly.

Laertes lowered his eyes on her and the maid looked up uncertainly, "That was not what I meant. I am asking did you hear what they were talking about."

Hearing this strange question, the maid's eyes hesitated but the burn of Laertes' eyes on her made her speak. "Well, they were in the room the whole time and Her Highness only asked me where they might find Helio-sama. Other than that I didn't hear anything else…"

Laertes thought about this for a second before he said, "Very well, you may go back to your errands now." He said without a word of appreciation and walked away briskly like their conversation never took place.

The maid watched him go and once he was out of hearing range sighed deeply and relieved herself of her stiff posture. "Jeez, first it's strangely dressed royal guests and now an ill-mannered bureaucrat. It's not my fault if the decorations aren't up when they're suppose to!" she huffed and hurried away.

* * *

The four Amazoness girls sat around a table in the salon of their suite, eating a late breakfast/early lunch. However, the only voice in the whole room came from Cere-Cere who was plucking petals one by one from a flower taken from the bunch of flowers in the middle of the dinning table. Her raspberry-pink eyes were deep in concentration as her fingers picked off the last half-dozen petals left on the stem of the flower. 

"…Won't succeed, succeed, won't succeed, succeed, won't succeed, succeed!" she suddenly shouted happily.

Startled, her sisters looked bewilderedly at her. "What are you doing? Fortune telling again?" asked Jun-Jun as she drank her glass of milk.

Cere-Cere smiled contently, "Not exactly. I was trying to see if my plan would work or not."

"Plan?" the other Amazoness girls said in unison.

"What does Cere-Cere plan to do?" asked Palla-Palla with a ring of crumbs around her mouth.

Cere-Cere opened her mouth to explain but just then a light knock came from the door. Instead she went and opened the door for Chibi Usa and Hotaru.

"Good morning everyone," Chibi Usa greeted her senshis and Hotaru smiled at them.

"Morning," the Quartet said in return.

"How do you like your room Palla-Palla?" Chibi Usa asked as she and Hotaru sat down in two extra chairs across from the table.

The short girl beamed, "Palla-Palla's room is really nice, just like Ophelia-sama promised!"

Chibi Usa smiled. "That's good. What about you guys?" she looked to Jun-Jun, Ves-Ves, and Cere-Cere.

"It was fine, but any clue how long we'll be staying here?" Jun-Jun asked.

Hotaru looked at Chibi Usa who's expression sobered. She answered for her princess and said, "We don't know yet. The situation is a lot more complicated than we first thought."

The corner of Ves-Ves's lips twitched but she said nothing and Jun-Jun scratched her nose uncomfortably. Palla-Palla's big eyes drifted from her sisters to her princess, watching them apprehensively.

Chibi Usa looked to her group and managed a defying smile despite the heavy atmosphere. "Hey, while we're here let's think of this as a school trip and enjoy our stay here. I'm sure there's lots of thing to see here!"

When none of the Amazoness responded, Chibi Usa sighed dejectedly and got up again to leave with Hotaru. "Anyways, I need to go find Helios and Ophelia-san." When the Quartet didn't move Chibi Usa looked back at them in surprise. "You guys aren't coming?"

"Well…" Jun-Jun demurred but Cere-Cere surprised everyone once again when she unexpectedly spoke up.

"Oh we have other plans for the day but don't worry about us, we'll be fine." The pink haired Amazoness smiled broadly but only drew suspicious stares from her sisters and confused looks from Chibi Usa and Hotaru.

Chibi Usa shrugged, then smiled at her senshi. "Okay then, we'll see you guys later," she said as she reached for the door.

"Bye, have fun in uh…whatever you're going to do," Hotaru waved and smiled.

"Uh, thanks…I think," Ves-Ves added weakly.

"Bye-bye Hotaru-san, Small Lady-sama!" Palla-Palla waved enthusiastically before the door closed.

After Chibi Usa and Hotaru were safely out of hearing range, Jun-Jun shot Cere-Cere a deeply suspicious look through squinted neon green eyes. "Plans? Since when?"

Cere-Cere turned around and with a smug look on her face, said "Why that would be the plan I had been working out this morning of course."

"And what would that be?" asked Ves-Ves with her arms crossed while Jun-Jun rolled her eyes and went back to her glass of milk.

Cere-Cere stood up, put her hands together and announced with utmost cool and affirmative air, "To make friends with Helios-san."

A loud choking sound immediately followed as Jun-Jun nearly chocked on the milk she had been drinking. The green haired Amazoness had to cough twice before she managed to croak out a gasping, "What!"

"Are you serious Cere-Cere?" Ves-Ves frowned skeptically. "Just yesterday you were the one who was trying to convince us that it didn't matter what he thought of us."

"Of course I'm serious!" Cere-Cere chirped. "If we are truly going to be thought of as senshis then we must convince people that we have changed for the better and now fight on the side of love and justice! Our image won't improve unless we work for it!"

"But 'make friends'? It's not going to be that easy you know. What if he doesn't forgive us?" said Ves-Ves as she and Jun-Jun exchanged skeptic glances.

"That's where my plan comes in! We are going to show him our sincerity!"

"Fine, but you can't just go up to him, shake his hand, and say 'Hi, I would like to be your friend'! How are we going to approach him?" said Jun-Jun.

"Ah ha, but you see I've already figured that out!" Cere-Cere beamed and smugly allowed her sisters to look questioningly at each other before relishing the answer. Looking to the rich bouquet decorating their tea table, the Amazoness with peach-pink hair exclaimed, "The answer is right here in front of you: flowers!" She plucked an orange bloom with sunset yellow shades on the edges, held it up and said, "Everybody loves flowers! And each different kind of flower has its own unique language. If we can get the appropriate kind then I'm sure that would get the message across!"

"What kind of flowers should we give him then Cere-Cere?" Palla-Palla asked.

"This isn't exactly the best place to pick daisies; I don't think they even have daisies on this planet," Jun-Jun said half sarcastically.

"But Palla-Palla saw a lot of pretty flowers in the garden yesterday, many, many pretty flowers," the youngest Amazoness empathized.

At this Cere-Cere smiled evocatively, "And I'm sure nobody would notice a few missing flowers," she said innocently.

Each of the girls raised their eyebrows thoughtfully at this provocative suggestion.

* * *

The soft echoing footsteps from Chibi Usa and Hotaru's footsteps pronounced their entry to the east wing of the palace and all the way past the nearly transparent walls of the Hall of Illumination with its tall clear windows. Hotaru led the way while Chibi Usa followed. Even though both of them had been shown this part of the palace as part of their tour the day before, Chibi Usa's attention then had not been on the halls and room she was passing through. 

"It should be right around here," Hotaru said as they rounded a corner and came upon a pair of giant gilded doors. Two well-built sentries stood by and they did not so much as bat an eyelash as the two girls approached.

"Excuse me, but is this where I might find Helios?" asked Chibi Usa

The guards studied the two strangers before them for a split second before the guard on the right said sternly, "This is the private quarters of His Majesty, yes. What is your business with him?"

Being recognized and admired had its advantages and this was one of those times that Chibi Usa wished she had those things working for her. She sighed inside before taking a deep breath and stared back at the intimidating guard, and said with all the noble breeding inherent in her, "I am Princess Lady Serenity of Earth and I desire an audience with Helios-I mean, His Majesty."

The firm cultured tone with which the young woman had spoken seemed to have convinced the guards that she ought to be taken seriously. "Wait here," the guard said and opened the door while his fellow sentry remained. After a few seconds came the sounds of heavy footsteps, followed by the reappearance of the guard, "His Majesty awaits your presence Your Highness," he said with much more deference than before.

Chibi Usa sighed and nodded wearily at the guards will Hotaru hide a small bemused smile as they stepped inside.

At once, they were met by a manservant who silently escorted them past rich opulently decorated walls and through a parlor the size of a small house. An expensive vase filled to bursting with pristine blue roses greeted them as they then passed through another pair of doors towards the dressing room. It was at that point that Chibi Usa heard one of two figures talking, their outline shadowed against the direct sunlight that was pouring into the room straight in front of her.

"…Don't worry about it. Just because he said this party is important doesn't mean you have to be worrying so-"

"Princess Small Lady Serenity and her consort, Sire," the servant announced once they've stopped by the door.

Horatio's prate dropped off upon the girl's announcement and Chibi Usa squinted her eyes against the bright sunlight and saw Helios standing beside Horatio. The young captain's attire was the same, with the red shoulder sash and the slim cutlass hanging by his side. However Helios's suit was completely different. This time, he wore a twilled silk jacket and short waistcoat the color of a pale moon. Green vines dotted with tiny pink buds were embroidered around the buttons and a laced neck-cloth covered the white shirt underneath the waistcoat.

Helios sighed as he put down a list he had in his hand and turned to smile at the girl, "Good morning Chibi Usa-chan, Hotaru." The manservant was dismissed soon after and the four of them were left to themselves.

Horatio walked up to Chibi Usa and bowed slightly, making the sunlight shifted like a tide wave over the top of his bright red shoulder ribbon. "Sorry if the guards gave you some trouble, Princess. However, I promise that won't happen again because I will personally makes sure everyone within these walls recognizes our most lovely guests." He winked at them and gave a silly apologetically grin that made Chibi Usa giggle and Hotaru blush.

Once her laughter has subsided, Chibi Usa said through a smile, "Thank you Captain Horatio."

Horatio nodded briskly, "Just doing my duty Princess."

Turning away from Horatio, Chibi Usa came to stand beside Helios. "What's the list for? It's so long," She asked when she noticed the pale white documents laid out on the table.

Helios looked back at the four sheets of fine paper covered with small neat handwriting and picked it up again. "It's a list of the people coming to a party today; Laertes has asked me to read it over."

"A party?" asked Hotaru as she came to stand beside her friends.

Helios smiled and patiently explained, "Yes, a garden tea party. It is a yearly tradition here at the palace for the purpose of show casing the blue roses. Supposedly they are most beautiful at this time of the year."

"I see, that explains why I saw so many people running around today," Chibi Usa realized. She looked at Helios, "But by any chance, do you know where Ophelia-san is?"

Helios and Horatio exchanged glances with Horatio answering after a moment's thought, "I think she's busy working on the preparations for the party, making sure the roses are trimmed and such. As far as I know she's been at it since early this morning." While he spoke, the doorman approached Helios and said something to him to which the light haired youth nodded.

"I see…" Chibi Usa said in mild disappointment.

"Is it urgent? I can ask someone to look for her…" Helios offered

Chibi Usa quickly waved her hands and shook her head, "Oh no, no need for that! I just want to ask her about the uh-the roses! It's nothing important!" she smiled pleasantly but it wasn't hard to see that she was sweat dropping.

At that moment Laertes walked into the room and Chibi Usa was thankful for the distraction.

"The first guests have begun to arrive Your Majesty," Laertes said to Helios and then as if he had noticed them out of the corner of his eyes, he bowed politely towards Chibi Usa and Hotaru. "Good morning Your Highness, Lady Tomoe."

"Good morning Laertes-san," Hotaru answered cordially.

"Good morning to you as well…" Chibi Usa answered but on the inside she felt the urge to slink away. Somehow she just didn't feel quite as relaxed as everyone around this seemingly polite and serious young man.

"Laertes, do you know where Ophelia is right now? Princess Small Lady would like to ask her about something," Helios asked.

Laertes looked at Helios then took a quick look through the edge of his glasses at Chibi Usa. "Ophelia is helping with the party preparations, but she will be attending the party afterwards."

"Hey, that's it!" Horatio patted his fist into his palm and smiled at the princess. "Why don't you come to the party then? It's a simple casual event, and I'm sure you'd be able to find Ophelia there for sure."

Laertes's made no comment but Helios nodded approvingly at the idea. "Horatio's right, and besides, there isn't much to do here and this will give you a chance to meet some new people."

"But…" Chibi Usa looked at Hotaru who gave her a small smile and a light shrug, wordlessly saying that the decision is for her to make. Chibi Usa squinted her eyebrows together as she thought about this. _I can ask Ophelia-san tomorrow, but what are the chances of me finding her then? And besides, the longer this is delayed the longer it will take for us to go home. _Then more guiltily, she thought,_ I wonder if the tea cookies here are as good as the ones Jupiter makes_… With a slight blush, she looked up and gave everyone an uncertain smile.

* * *

A delicate parasol shifted in the air of the afternoon rose garden. Ladies, many carrying the tiny laced umbrellas, chattered and waved to their friends. The colorful skirts, well-groomed hairs, and glossy coat tails of the women as they walked through the garden made them look like birds of paradise perched in a canopy of indigo and emerald green. The male attendees were no less impressive in their attire, if somewhat more conservative in the choice of color. Nevertheless, the shin of expensive fabrics and shiny accessories impressed the eyes of their fellows and many of the lady guests. Even the few children who had been brought along were well dressed and stood beside their proud parents and siblings. 

Amongst the posh crowd was a girl wearing a plain white sailor top and blue skirt, like a sparrow standing amongst a flock of peacocks. Chibi Usa and Hotaru stood with her eyes wide open as they stared at the crowd.

"If this is what's called a casual gathering I wonder what a formal one would look like," Chibi Usa said to herself as a woman with a multilayered, shimmering yellow dress walked past them. _Apparently not the same as on Earth, _she mentally answered herself. Looking over Hotaru's shoulder, Chibi Usa saw Helios and Horatio with a group of people, two men and four women, all of whom she presumed, were members of a wealthy aristocratic family.

It didn't really surprised Chibi Usa that Helios wouldn't be able to accompany her. He was the prince and a king-to-be, and knowing how busy her parents usually were at public events, this was somewhat expected. After their initial entrance and short introduction, Helios had been swept away by a bevy of guests, gently nudged this way and politely led that ways to different people, all wanting to meet him and speak with him. Horatio stood dutifully behind his liege, albeit looking rather bored but alert. Laertes had gone to have a serious looking discourse with three men looking much older but no less serious than him. The forgotten crown princess of Crystal Tokyo stood awkwardly with her guardian as she meekly watched the pageant go by.

"Do you want to walk around a bit before we look for Ophelia-san, Chibi Usa-chan?" Hotaru asked, her shy nature taking over as she looked hesitantly at the crowd.

"Uh…" Chibi Usa demurred as her gaze drifted from side to side when she spotted three women looking in her direction when all three of them giggled at the same time.

Chibi Usa turned her face around, and felt her cheeks burn accompanied by an unpleasant feeling. "I think I'll hold off on getting to know people for now," she muttered and took Hotaru's hand, "Let's go look for Ophelia-san, that's what we came here to do."

Hotaru nodded and set off with her best friend, relieved.

They waded through the crowd, followed by a trail of inquisitive glances, but were thankfully quickly dismissed by their unremarkable appearance. Inadvertently, this meant that people were also more relaxed around her and the slight crowded allowed her to hear rather detailed chatters of the various wealthy, officious looking men, and the impossibly well dressed women. The whispers fluttered by Chibi Usa's ears like moths in the dark but some of the topics caught her attention. However she soon realized that amongst the gossips and serious discourses, soft hushed ones that went on below the surface were ones that carried the true interests of the upper crust of Rhodes. So while her eyes searched for Ophelia, her ears were on their own, catching fragments of conversations.

"…Rumors has it he has something powerful on his hands…we don't know, no one alive has seen it, but for his army to advance so quickly it must be…

"…It came straight from the Assembly! My husband was so worried by it that he's been up all night worry about what that will do to the ships docked on the main land…"

"…No offense to Polonius, a good man he is, but his son acts like he's been in that office just as longer than the rest of us! First it's those upstarts in Parliament and now…"

"…A coronation ceremony in two months, we can't be sure he's ready! Yes, yes you have a point but at this point do you really think he has enough support to maintain…"

The conversations passed in and out of Chibi Usa's hearing range but not out of her mind. _Something powerful? Coronation? Who is this person they are talking about and what did the Assembly say that worries people so much?_ Chibi Usa thought to herself as she walked. The more she thought about this, the more distracted her mind got until Hotaru's voice snapped her from her thoughts.

"Chibi Usa-chan, Chibi Usa-chan!"

Chibi Usa jumped and saw her friend tugging at her hand. "Huh? What?"

"I just saw Ophelia-san, she's over there," Hotaru pointed with a tip of her chin. Ophelia was walking by herself a little distance off, politely greeting the people that went past her.

Chibi Usa nodded, but Hotaru paused for a bit and a worried look flashed across her eyes before she followed suit.

Within a few quick steps Chibi Usa came up to Ophelia and smiled at the young woman they had met only the day before. "Good morning Ophelia-san!"

Ophelia's long graceful neck turned and she smiled openly upon seeing the princess and her escort. "Good morning to you as well Chibi Usa-sama and Tomoe-san, I had been looking for you this morning."

This surprised Chibi Usa and Hotaru. "What a coincidence, we were looking for you as well," said Hotaru.

"Oh? Shall we sit down and have some tea first?" The two other girls agreed and Ophelia led them to an empty tea table at the edge of the party area that was placed to one side of a cove, and except for a small path that ran through it, they were surrounded by a divider made of hedge and roses. The other guests were separated by the wall of flora and it was in this relatively private location that the three of them took their seat.

A manservant bowed to Ophelia, and while Ophelia spoke to him, Chibi Usa whispered to Hotaru, "I wonder why she wants to see us…"

"Don't know," Hotaru whispered back as the servant left and Ophelia turned her attention back to her guests.

Chibi Usa steadied herself and asked, "Ophelia-san, you said you were looking for us this morning. Did you need to see us about something?"

At this Ophelia blushed and Chibi Usa felt surprised once again by the young woman's reaction. "Well I was wondering…if I might ask you about something, Chibi Usa-sama," she said slowly.

Facing this ironic twist of events Chibi Usa managed a wide-eyed "Oh."

Ophelia looked down and didn't speak when the tea arrived. After the servant had brought the richly laden tier of cookies and cakes, poured their cups full of warm fragrant tea, he left the ladies to themselves. Ophelia stared at the steamy brown liquid in her cup and twisted her hands nervously in her lap before she managed the courage to look up at Chibi Usa and said, "Could you, if you don't mind, tell me about what life was like for Helios-sama on Earth?"

* * *

Outside the circle of partygoers, a hedge rustled when four heads popped over the top of the shrubbery. The Amazoness Quartet, led by Cere-Cere, looked around and saw that the coast was clear. 

"Excellent, everyone is perfectly distracted. We have made it inside the garden unnoticed." Cere-Cere dived behind the cover of the bush again and the rest of the Quartet ducked back down to move to a more reclusive spot with her in the lead.

"Where are we going now?" asked Jun-Jun, whose tall hair braids were discretely visible above the top of the bushes, waving back and forth like the bobber on a fishing line as she and her sisters crawled along a stone paved trail. "I still don't think this is a good idea!"

Cere-Cere turned her head back to face her sister as best as she could, down on all four, "Oh come on! We've all agreed to this, it's too late to back out now!"

Once they were behind the relative security of a circle of trees that surrounded a small fountain on a garden path, Palla-Palla chirped up, "What do we do now Cere-Cere?"

"I don't see anything but blue roses and more blue roses," commented Ves-Ves. "Are you sure there's something else here?"

Ignoring Ves-Ves's doubts about their noble mission, Cere-Cere looked hard around her and pointed to a corner of the garden, "This way." With that the Quartet ducked back down and scurried along the path with Cere-Cere in the lead again.

Over bushes and tree lines their heads popped up and each scanned the area with the earnest of a cautious rabbit peeping from the edge of its burrow. They scurried around the edge of the garden, keeping out of the sight of people and ducking when the palace patrols pass by until finally their heads surfaced in front of a large flowerbed.

"It's all the same flowers everywhere!" Cere-Cere said exasperatedly then hung her head low in defeat.

"Told you so," grumbled Ves-Ves.

"What's wrong with the blue flowers? Palla-Palla still thinks they're pretty," she said innocently enough although in a somewhat oblivious manner to her sister's dilemma.

"Oh! That's not the problem!" Cere-Cere shouted.

"It was your plan Cere-Cere, don't yell at us!" Ves-Ves shouted back with her hands on her hips.

In frustration, Jun-Jun threw up her hands and stomped over to the rose bed, "Jeez, you know what, why not just get some of these roses? They're everywhere; no one's going to notice!" So speaking Jun-Jun carefully broke off the thorns, grasped the base of the bloom and snapped the branch roughly in two, sending shock waves though the whole plant.

"Palla-Palla wants to help!" Palla-Palla squealed happily, and so saying the blue haired Amazoness jumped in and began copying her green haired sister.

"Hey, the sooner we get this over with the sooner we can get out of here; might as well!" and with that Ves-Ves pitched in as well.

"All of you, stop it!" Cere-Cere screeched.

Jun-Jun looked back over her shoulder while her hands held a freshly snapped rose. "Why?"

"Because there's-there's…" Cere-Cere's panicking voice disappeared like a deflated balloon

When Jun-Jun heard Cere-Cere's sentence trailed off and noticed her other sisters faces turn pale, the green haired Amazoness realized at the same time that something or someone large was blocking out the sunlight over her. Feeling a dreadful feeling planting itself in her stomach, Jun-Jun managed a lopsided grin to the two brawny guards standing over her like a pair of angry hawks.

* * *

Both Chibi Usa and Hotaru's sat flabbergasted at Ophelia's request as Ophelia tried to explain herself. "I don't mean to be rude; it's just that I couldn't take my mind off the matter. You see," she sulked back and admitted guiltily, "Helios-sama hasn't told anyone about what happened on Earth. I know it's not my place to pry into his business, or anyone else's, but I can't stop thinking and worrying about it." 

Chibi Usa sat back in her chair, her lips slightly perched and frowning. Ophelia looked hopefully at her across the table but her hands were clasped together nervously in her lap.

The pink haired teenager understood what Ophelia meant and could sympathize with her. Before Pegasus opened up his secrets to her as a child she had often wondered why he never told her anything about himself. Ophelia was in much the same situation as she was then. But Helios's secrets cannot be divulged without taking things into serious consideration. The secret of the Golden Crystal is not only a matter of keeping the galaxy secure but is also linked to Helios's existence. Should the wrong person find out about it there might be hell to pay.

The real problem was can she trust Ophelia and just how much can she tell her? Chibi Usa teetered on that question and wrestled with herself for an answer. _But Ophelia-san only asked about how Helios lived, I don't have to tell her about the crystal…_Chibi Usa reasoned. But Helios had trusted her to keep his secrets clandestine; talking to someone without his consent on the matter would be violating the trust that Chibi Usa so cherished between him and herself.

Chibi Usa looked up tentatively to Ophelia who was still waiting patiently for her answer. Her clear blue eyes were so calm but the slight curve in her brows betrayed her deep anxiety. Returning her own glance back to stare at the table, Chibi Usa felt a stab inside her heart when she thought how those eyes would look if she refused. Perhaps it would benefit them both if Ophelia was willing to divulge some of her knowledge and Chibi Usa could share some of hers. This appealing idea took root in her mind and the princess made up her mind.

"Ophelia-san…I, well actually I was looking for you today for a similar reason," Chibi Usa admitted with a wee-bit of a smile.

Ophelia's lips parted slightly in surprise and Chibi Usa continued, "While I am here, I want to learn more about what Helios's past, I want to help him uncover behind the events that led into this situation. But I can't do that without your help. You knew him from his childhood and he has known me from recent years. It's like we have the first and third part of a book. If we put them together we might be able to figure out what happened in the middle." She reached out her hand and fixed her gaze with Ophelia's, "If that's alright with you, we can do this together."

A smile bloomed on her face and she steadily reached out and grasped Chibi Usa's hand. Chibi Usa looked at Hotaru who put her hand atop of theirs.

Each of them looked at each other and as their hands came apart, the three members of the secret alliance began to laugh glad heartedly.

However their laughter was cut short when Ophelia heard her name spoken behind her. A guard bowed saluted when she turned around. "We found some intruders in the garden". The guard motioned to his partner and the other man walked up to them, glaring at the huddled group of Amazoness Quartet of whom he walked behind.

Hotaru raised her hand to cover her gasp and Chibi Usa's mouth dropped open when she saw her senshis marched in front of their table. People close by started noticing the commotion as well and soon many pairs of eyes were trying to catch a glimpse of what was going on.

Chibi Usa jumped out of her seat and rushed to the Quartet's side. "Are you guys okay? What did you do?" The four of them looked away from their princess and wore expressions like that of children caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

By now Ophelia had stood up as well and she looked to the first guard. "We arrested when after catching them in the process of defacing some roses." He then handed Ophelia the snapped off roses and a large wave of murmurs rippled through the crowd.

"Those roses are sacred, how could those girls simply break them off like that? It's atrocious!" whispered a tight voice somewhere in the crowd.

Hearing this, Chibi Usa swallowed hard. This was serious and from the reactions of the crowd it would be an understatement to say that what the Quartet did was less than acceptable. Then something else Chibi Usa was dreading happened when she looked up and saw Helios, making his way along with Horatio toward them. Soon he reached the epicenter of the guest's attention and looked at Chibi Usa then Ophelia and Hotaru.

"What's happened?" he asked at first, but it didn't take him long to see that this had something to do with the four Amazoness girls.

Chibi Usa hurried to produce an explanation as she stepped in front of the Quartet. "Uh, well the thing was…um…"

"They were picking roses for me," Ophelia suddenly said and the swell of people shifted their attention from the Quartet to her. Ophelia simply smiled at the onlookers and took the roses that the guard had been holding into her arms. "I saw this morning that some of the roses in one of the vases were welting, I wanted to replace them but couldn't find the time. These girls volunteered to help me and I had agreed. However, had I known they were planning to do so this afternoon I would've given them some pruning shears," her smile was bright and beautiful and the crowd seemed quite convinced of her explanation.

Slowly, the crowd began to peel away and thin out. Chibi Usa was finally able to breath again and it came out as a giant sigh. The Quartet looked relieved as well and when Hotaru turned to talk to them they no longer looked like they were holding their breaths. "What were you doing in the garden? That could've been quite serious if Ophelia-san hadn't stepped in."

Three pairs of eyes went to Cere-Cere whose face was red and blushing. "All of you went along with it didn't you? It's not just my fault!" she muttered under her breath.

"What are you talking about Cere-Cere?" Chibi Usa asked the pink haired Amazoness.

Now many more pairs of eyes were on her, Cere-Cere gulped. She glanced at Helios who was fixing her and her sisters with an indecipherable stiff gaze but said nothing.

Ophelia came to the rescue yet again. With the roses in her hands, she said gently to Chibi Usa "Let us go back in and put these in some water. It would be a pity for them to welt after all the trouble the Quartet had gone through to pick them for me."

Thinking it's probably a good idea to keep out of sight for a while, Chibi Usa nodded and Hotaru nodded as well. Ophelia curtsied to Helios and headed toward the palace. Chibi Usa hesitated in following Ophelia. Instead, she looked at Helios who took his gaze off the Quartet to hear her ask in a hopeful voice, "Will you come with us?"

"I have to go back to the party. There are people waiting to see me." Helios smiled apologetically but it was a smile Chibi Usa felt she had already seen too many times within the limits of 24 hours.

"Okay then…" She made herself return the smile and turned to go.

Helios watched her walk away. Within a minute, when her long pink tresses could no longer be seen, he reluctantly turned in the opposite direction and disappeared into the crowd as well.

Chibi Usa, with Hotaru and the Quartet behind her, now walked to catch up with Ophelia. Ahead of them, Ophelia came across two people standing in the middle of the path. The two guests were a young boy about 11 years old and the other a young woman of 17, and their obvious resemblance gave them away as siblings. Ophelia smiled politely to them, "Excuse me," she said.

The sister quickly led herself and her brother to the side and she gave Ophelia a hasty smile before the lilac haired girl passed beyond them. As Chibi Usa passed them by, she heard the boy talking to his sister.

"Hey Onee-san, she's the one Nanny call the Senshi of Misfortune isn't she?" the boy asked excitedly.

"Shh!" his older sister chided. "She's our guardian senshi, you shouldn't say things like that, it's rude and un-gentlemen like."

Unconvinced, the boy said, "But she is strange! They say she talks to flowers. Can she really do that?"

In desperation, the sister tried to pull her brother away but the inquisitive young brat only raised his voice and prated on. "And I heard that she has all these strange power, maybe that's why no one wants to marry her either!"

The people around them said nothing but a few raised an interested eyebrow and some whispered amongst themselves while others seemed to be nodding their heads. Ahead of them Chibi Usa noticed Ophelia's shoulders pulled in a fraction as if trying to make herself smaller but she kept walking as if she had heard nothing. Chibi Usa kept a worried eye on her and remained silent until they were back in the palace.

After walking through some sun lit hallways, Ophelia entered a room with a large bouquet that was the center piece of a table and stood there, in front of the table, silently trimming and rearranging. Chibi Usa and everyone else watched from behind. Finally Chibi Usa couldn't hold it anymore and said, "He shouldn't say that about you, Ophelia-san."

Ophelia's hands paused in their labor and she smiled to herself. "It's alright Chibi Usa-sama. He was just a curious little boy, I'm sure he didn't mean any ill will."

"But-" Chibi Usa's brows were locked in a deep disapproving scowl, "Even if he didn't mean it, even if a person only said it off handedly, hearing them still hurts!"

Ophelia's pale blue eyes opened wide at those words. She didn't move for a moment then said to Chibi Usa and everyone else's astonishment "But what he said…they're true." Ophelia shook her head lightly, gazing ruefully at the bouquet of roses in front of her.

"There is a superstition here that a child who lives while the mother dies during childbirth was bound by ill fate from birth. And it was so that my mother died when giving birth to me and when I was young I was very sickly, so much so that I would become ill if I stayed outdoors for too long. I was invited to live here in hopes of improving my health and fortunately it worked. However after only two years after I had arrived Helios-sama disappeared, then the previous Sailor Somnus passed away and the civil war started."

"The previous Sailor Somnus…" Chibi Usa whispered.

Ophelia lowered her head, "Queen Thea-sama, Helios-sama's mother." Chibi Usa gasped at this revelation. Ophelia continued while reaching for one of the roses to add into the vase, "After her death some began calling me the Senshi of Misfortune, a title I think not inappropriate at times," she smiled, but it was sad and self-deploring. Suddenly a thorn from the rose she was holding stabbed her left index finger and Ophelia dropped the flower and brought the bleeding fingertip to her mouth, sucking on it to stop the bleeding while the sharp pain made her squint her eyes.

"Ophelia-san, are you okay?" Chibi Usa rushed to Ophelia's side.

"I'm fine, it's nothing to worry about," but Ophelia winced when she tried to move her finger. It seemed the thorn had cut in deeper than she thought.

Hotaru, who had remained silent all this time, gently took Ophelia's injured hand in hers. The dark haired girl met Ophelia's eyes as her other hand hovered above the wound. "Don't blame yourself for what has happened Ophelia-san. Sometimes Fate isn't very nice to people who are kind and gentle but that's what makes you so strong." Hotaru turned her eyes down and closed them when the palm of her hand began to glow. Ophelia stared wide eyed as the glow accompanied a tickling sensation on her injured hand that faded when the glow disappeared. When Hotaru opened her eyes and took her palm away, the wound beneath it had vanished. "You continue to remain kind despite what life has dealt you. You are brave," Hotaru said with a satisfied smile.

"How did you…" astonished, Ophelia began but Hotaru patted her hand.

"When I was young, in a former life time, everyone around me thought I was strange because I could heal people. Nobody wanted to be my friend and I thought it was probably better to stay away from others, that is, until I met someone who convinced me otherwise." She relinquished Ophelia's hand.

Ophelia touched her healed hand then held both her hands to her chest. She smiled to herself then looked up and whispered a sincere "Thank you" to Hotaru and Chibi Usa. The two friends smiled back and Ophelia went back to work, carefully this time, and soon finished putting together the bouquet. The ivory and crystal vase was filled to bursting with the lovely blossoms but it was arranged so naturally that it looked like the flowers had simply grown from the vessel and was not at all awkward. Chibi Usa admired Ophelia's handy work and said so to her new friend.

"It looks beautiful!" she declared.

"Why thank you, Chibi Usa-sama," Ophelia laughed. Seeing her smile like that, Chibi Usa felt a warm feeling inside and thought how nice Ophelia looked when her face was bright and clear like that.

Behind her, Jun-Jun gave Cere-Cere a nudge. Cere-Cere frowned at her sister but Palla-Palla, Jun-Jun, and Ves-Ves all glared back. Grudgingly, she stepped forward and said in a small voice, "We uh, like to thank you for saving us back there, Ophelia-san."

That seemed to have reminded everyone why they were standing here in the first place and Ophelia smiled benevolently at the four sister, "I know you four don't mean to do the roses harm, but why did you want them for? If it's because you thought the blue rose bouquets were nice, I can send you one this evening…"

Palla-Palla, with her guilty puppy eyes, shook her head.

"That's not why we were in the garden…" admitted Ves-Ves as she twiddled her thumb nervously.

Chibi Usa crossed her arms and said sternly, "Then why were you in the garden plucking roses?"

Jun-Jun lowered her eyes. She chewed her lips and hesitated before saying, "We wanted to get them for Helios-san…we wanted to show him that we're…that we've changed…"

Chibi Usa was taken aback and Hotaru looked no less surprised. Ophelia however, was staring at them, very much confused. Just as she was about to ask what was going on, a knock came from the door behind them and Horatio appeared.

"Say Ophelia, have you seen-Oh hello Princess, sorry, I didn't see you there; you were standing behind that bunch of roses." Horatio smiled and briefly waved at Chibi Usa as he walked into the room.

"Horatio, shouldn't you be with Helios-sama?" Ophelia gave her life long friend a slightly disapproving look.

Horatio sighed heavily, faking an underappreciated look, "Sadly, this is the fate of the great Captain, to be both the royal defender and the messenger boy. I lament for I cannot be both at once." He grinned at Ophelia who giggled. Then he replied more seriously and said, "Truth is, it was Laertes who sent me out as the messenger boy. He needed me to ask you something."

"Oh? What did he need to know?" Ophelia asked, puzzled. It was unlike her older brother to need any help from others considering he could literally keep track of everything that goes on in the country in his head.

"He was wondering if you had seen Polonius-san today. Apparently he was not home when Laertes left your manor this morning and he hasn't seen him all day," explained Horatio.

"You mean my father isn't here at the party?" Ophelia said in genuine surprise. Horatio shook his head. "How odd, he has always attended the spring tea party before!" Ophelia touched her chin and thought about it some more but after a long minute could offer nothing new. "He hasn't told me of any other plans today and I have no clue where he could be."

Horatio shrugged and touched Ophelia's shoulder. "Don't worry about it Ophelia, I'll go ask a few more people but," then he gently pulled Ophelia away from the Solar senshis and said in a low voice, "The problem is not so much as Polonius-san but the fact that he isn't the only one not present today. Valtemand, Osric and two other top brass officials are absent as well. Valtemand especially since his manservant said he left in a hurry early this morning after a note was delivered to him which he took with him."

Ophelia pulled away and an alarmed look appeared on her face. Chibi Usa and Hotaru saw Ophelia's concerned expression and exchanged perplexed glances with each other.

Just as the mystery loomed over the small group, a clamor outside in the garden attracted everyone's attention. Looking out the window, a servant was running as fast as his feet could carry him through the crowd, slowing down every once in a while before he approached a figure that Chibi Usa instantly recognized as Helios who was now standing with Laertes. The servant bowed hurriedly and said something to them. Chibi Usa, Ophelia and the rest of their little gathering moved away from the window and back out to the garden. Just as they passed through the door to the garden they heard an even louder clamor when Polonius arrived with none other than the other absent officials.

Chibi Usa ran down the stairs leading from the door to the paved garden plaza. While she ran she could see Polonius talking to Helios and said something that drew a stunned expression from the young man. By now every one of the guests have turned his or her attention to the young heir and his advisor and by the time Chibi Usa had reached the edge of the mass of people, Polonius turned around and faced the crowd.

"My friends, I have unfortunate news to bring you," he projected in a regretful voice. By now the others have caught up with Chibi Usa and crowded around her to hear.

"Today while I was meeting with these good men," he motioned to the officials who had arrived with him, "I have received a grave and bitter news," he paused and his audience's heart paused with him.

"Yesterday around midnight three fortifications on the northern coast were overran by Macedonian forces. We have been invaded ladies and gentleman, and now for the sake of our country's sovereignty, we must go to war!"

There was absolute silence for a second, followed by absolute pandemonium of voices the next. The faces of people turned gray and some demanded details. Amidst the chaos the senshis of the Solar System looked uncertainly at each other as it was certain their stay here will no longer resemble any school trip ever taken.

* * *

A/N Sorry to the people who are on Story Alert and got an e-mail the first time I updated. I realized I wanted to add something so I took the chapter off and am reposting it now. Now onto some announcements: first, I want to apologize for making everyone wait so long for this chapter. I never intended to spend four months writing this but it was impossible to take extended time outs for writing while I was taking Biology, Organic Chemistry, and Physics all at the same time. To all the reviewers and all the people who don't review but read my story anyways, I thank you for your support! I hope I did not disappoint you but do tell me what you think. Secondly, next quarter I will be even busier since I will be taking four classes instead of just three. Hopefully that won't mean there's no update until April but lets cross our fingers and hope for the best. 


	10. The Deceivingly Tranquil Night

**Act 8 "The Deceivingly Tranquil Night"**

The twin moons of Somnus were shining in a cloudless sky over Elsinore. The winds blowing in from the sea shifted slightly as the waves gently rocked the boats in the harbor, like a mother rocking her baby's cradle. The bustling city and its inhabitants were asleep as it was well past the witching hours of the night. Young children had been tucked beneath their blankets and the adults were under the spell of the sandman.

A pair of weary amber eyes watched over the inhabitants has they slept, wondering if he will be able to protect the tranquil night that the people now enjoy.

With his right hand pulling back the thick curtain, Helios' white bed-robe glowed like finely polished ivory in the combined light of the two moons. The moonlight also illuminated his face, frowning in the anxiety and uncertainty that had kept him up into the night while the rest of his kingdom slept.

_It's odd_, he wondered to himself, _that people could still sleep so soundly when there is eminent danger on the horizon_. Helios thought back to the party earlier in the day. After Polonius showed up with the unexpected news, everything became frantic for a short while. The party had ended as scheduled but the guests left with a palpable sense of anxiety and a number of them had stayed to talk to Polonius and the other members of the Royal Assembly who had made the stunning announcement.

Helios could easily guess what the topics of their conversation had been. What are we going to do next? Where is the enemy at right now? Is the capital prepared for a possible invasion? All of these and a hundred others were going through these people's mind. But most importantly, will their uncrowned king be able to lead them through this crisis?

The simple and truthful answer was no, he wasn't. Helios knew he would be deceiving himself if he thought he was ready to lead a country through war. Even though others who look at him may think he was young, inexperienced and unprepared, the truth was this wasn't a matter of age.

Helios drew the curtain briskly and turned around to face the darkened interior of his bedroom.

He was a priest of dreams, not a warrior or a leader of men. The idea that the lives and futures of millions of people, people who call themselves his subjects, depended on his protection overwhelmed him in its magnitude. Helios ran his hand through his hair, suddenly feeling hot and suffocated in this room. He reached for a dressing gown by the foot of his bed, draped it over his shoulders and quietly opened the door of his bed chamber. Passing through the parlor, he made his way to the hallway door. With no destination in mind, he stepped into the hallway and began walking, the sound of his bare feet on the cold marble floor made hardly a whisper.

With the moonlight and night-air as his companions, Helios wandered through the palace. By this hour of the night the candles have died off and the walls were a pallid shade of ashen blue, looking eerily like the walls of a mausoleum. The heat that had driven him from his room has now been replaced by the cold emptiness of the hallway, making Helios pull his arms together.

What was he doing here in the first place? To wander aimlessly at an ungodly hour of the night over matters better handled by someone else? His duty lied with guarding Elysian, he had no business trying in vain to run a country that could probably function better if left in someone else's hands, someone more capable than himself. Perhaps it was wiser for him to have gone back to Earth with Chibi Usa when she came.

Helios stopped and leaned against the pale wall, suddenly tempted by that thought. When he looked up he saw a vase of roses. Their blue petals seemed to glow in the moonlight, suddenly bring to mind the roses that Ophelia wore in her wavy lavender hair.

_Please stay Helios-sama… This country can't go on without you…we can't go on without you. Please don't leave us again…Please…_

She had said that to him when he first came here. Was he going to turn his back on the people who cared about him here on Rhodes when they needed him the most?

_Does it matter? You will leave them one day anyway; you have to return to Elysian remember? It would be better to disentangle yourself from all this now than later when you might regret it, _a luring little voice said inside of him, tempting him with the simple option that was open to him.

True, in his mind his duty was foremost to protect Elysian. It was a task that permeated his blood, a destiny that he could not deny. Now, it was also an excuse to run away. Helios didn't want to run away anymore. He wanted to protect the things dear to him with his own abilities, however limited they might be. And as for Ophelia, Horatio, Laertes, and all the kind people he had met while in Rhodes, right now he wanted to do what he could to protect them, even though he knew he would have to leave them behind when he returned to Elysian one day.

With these lingering thoughts Helios rounded a corner and the gate of the Compass Chapel came into view. Helios paused, gazing at the door with its dendritic designs fixed in vines of steel. Perhaps it was chance that brought him here. Maybe even he himself had done so, that perhaps some unconscious part of him had marched him to the doors of the chapel.

Stepping up to the gate, Helios reached out and touched the cold metallic handles. The doors creaked only slightly as they opened. Being inside the chapel at this hour of the day gave Helios chills like the last time he had been here in the darkness of the night. The giant rose window loomed in front of him, with the light of the moons shinning in through the stained glass. The compass rose design of the window, ironically, offered no guidance regarding what direction to take for Helios as he stood by the doorway. The only thing it mutely told him was to remind him of the other reason he had chosen to tarry here.

The truth about his past was the initial reason why he had decided to stay and even now as he walked down the nave of this building he became increasingly aware of all the secrets it held within and behind its walls. Turning slightly to one side, he came face to face with a gray statue built with the intention of guarding and opening the passage to a mostly forgotten section of the massive palace complex.

Helios stared at it, his eyes dulled to a bleached ocher color in the cool moonlight. He knew full well that some of the secrets he sought were within his grasp. All he had to do was step inside and start looking or begin asking questions. But he had done neither of those things for the time he has spent here. Why had he hesitated for so long, putting off a task that could led him back to Elysian much sooner? Helios knew the answer when he approached the statue and his hand hovered in hesitation above its garnet base.

_You're afraid_.

When Polonius first showed him the physical remnants of his past, he had thought he would stay until something was uncovered regarding the string of past events that had led him here. He had set out with that goal but inside he was afraid of what he might uncover and what they might do to him. When he saw the painting of his family, seeing the faces of parents he did not remember, his mind and body had gone ridged then limp. Perhaps it was fortunate that he did not remember them; who knows how he might have reacted upon seeing that room had he retained the emotional bond connected to his family and a familiar setting now in ashes.

But to recover the memories of his family and his childhood meant he will inevitably come across things that will pluck at his emotions, and as the pieces come together he wasn't sure he could hold himself steady mentally. What's more, by the end of it Helios believed he might become so entangled in the matters here that he will not be able to leave Rhodes and will be forced to abandon Elysian, never to return to his old life again. It was a thought so unthinkable that it was almost unimaginable. Even now as he stood there, he could feel the knot in his stomach at the thought of what laid behind these stones.

Helios removed his hand from the stone base and the icy feeling faded. The tiny pendent around his retracted hand glittered in the diffused light. Helios' left hand touched it absent mindedly as he turned his eyes once again to the rose window.

He had told Chibi Usa he wanted to stay because he wanted to uncover his past

This fear had unconsciously made him tell Chibi Usa that he was here with a purpose when in fact his will was drifting unsteadily like a flag in a gale. But this would not last forever; Helios knew that. Perhaps he would be able to gather his courage one day, but before then the secrets would have to wait as he dealt with this burning problem at hand.

But what about Chibi Usa, his lovely Maiden? How will he protect her while this war raged on? The unsettling memory of what had happened after the party came to mind.

As he was leaving the garden, a man Helios remembered from his meeting with the Assembly had called to him.

"Sire, a word please."

Helios stopped and turned to face the man whose thin face was wrinkled with worry and age. The old gentleman bowed. When he looked up again he said, "The words that Polonius brought to us is highly unsettling, Your Majesty. I am sure you are aware of the state this country is in. We are not well prepared for another war. There is talk amongst the other ministers and counsel members regarding the princess of Earth and her arrival here in Rhodes, particularly being juxtaposed with this current crisis."

Hearing this, Helios quickly interjected, "I assure you that she has nothing to do with the enemy. It was a coincidence that she had arrived right before the invasion."

The gray haired minister smiled and shook his head. "That was not what I meant Sire. What I mean to say is that with this dilemma upon us we will need all the help and assistance we can get. Since Macedonia has already taken over so many of our former allies, we are left with few outside resources." He paused, and then said, "Some of us have been wondering…if it is at all possible that the princess of Earth might be able to aid us. After all if she is a friend of Your Majesty then perhaps-"

"No!"

The old statesman's head startled up upon hearing his liege reply so vehemently. Evidently Helios was surprised by his own behavior and he shifted his gaze down, his expression tight. "I know the situation is dire but I cannot involve Princess Small Lady in this conflict; she is not a part of this war."

The old man nodded to himself and said regretfully, "I am sorry for disturbing Your Majesty. Please excuse me." So saying he slowly turned around and left Helios to stand silently in the hallway, his hands clutched into fists while Horatio and Laertes looked on from behind him.

Back in the present, Helios scowled at what the minister had tried to ask of him. From the information that had been gathered, the invaders were incredibly strong and it was almost certain that the Rhodian forces will be met with a strong offensive. However he was not about to let their relationship become a reason to put Chibi Usa in danger. If he was going to get through this crisis and return to Elysian someday, he was going to have to keep her out of this as much as possible. As long as she was safe, that knowledge will be his reassurance in the swells that he was prepared to involve himself in, a storm he decided he would willingly face in order to help the good people he had met here.

Helios looked back to the chapel window, into the tranquil night that lay outside the glass and steel. The moons and stars looked back at him and bathed him in their light. Helios closed his eyes and sighed.

* * *

Under the watch of the same moonlight, Chibi Usa lay sleeping in her room. Her pink tresses were spread out around her, her slender arms uncovered by the bedding. The outline of the window frame and the shadow of the walls darkened the room, leaving patches of pallid light to contrast with the shadows. 

A tiny voice in the night whispered in the princess' ear, breaking the peace of the night like the drop of a pin against glass. At first the sentences were fuzzy and broken, fluttering around her conscious like a mosquito. Chibi Usa's face winced and she turned her body and pulled the sheets over her ears but the sound grew incessantly louder, more punctuated. Hazy with sleep, the princess hide her head under the bedding but still the jumbled noise remained until it came unbearable. Then as suddenly as it came, the noise ceased.

An image flashed across her mind. It existed but for a bare flicker of an instant but as she watched it in her mind, the images were clear and unshakeable.

She saw Helios, with his back towards her but his faced turned in profile. The white of his priest's robe seemed to glow against the pitch-black background but that soft untainted light did not illuminate his features for she could not see his eyes, hidden under the shadows of his pale snowy hair. Then, his lips moved but she could not hear what he said. Before she could make sense of anything, his face turned away and his form dissolved into a mass of blue rose petals. The words in the night that had eluded her before now came back as the petals became lost into the darkness.

"Please protect him, I beg of you…before it is too late…"

The instant over, Chibi Usa woke with a start. She rushed up from under the sheets, her senses jerked to full awareness by the dream. For a few moments, Chibi Usa stared blankly into the night which looked back at her innocently with its tranquil stillness. Slowly her heart stopped racing and her hand relaxed around the bed sheet that she had unknowingly clutched to her chest. Chibi Usa lowered her gaze as her hands absently straightened out her tousled hair. Worried ruby eyes frowned over the Voice's words as she lay back down and tried to ease herself back to a sleeping position.

Is this a warning of some sort? Is the entity known to them as the Voice trying to remind her of a possible danger? Or is it just a dream a worried mind had conjured?

Chibi Usa pulled herself close under the blankets, and moving her lips to the words Helios had uttered soundlessly in her dream, she thought they seemed to make out the words "Good bye".

"Chibi Usa-sama?"

Chibi Usa blinked and startled herself when she saw her face reflected in a cup of tea that had been sitting on her lap. Raising her eyes she looked to the people seated around her. Hotaru was sitting to her immediate right and the Quartet was behind the dark haired girl, seated in a circle with their round child-like faces looking at her inquisitively. Ophelia was to her left, a teacup and its saucer in hand.

The seven girls were in the palace conservatory, sitting in cushioned white rattan chairs. The building was a structure built completely out of crystal clear glass along with traces of a well-concealed steel framework. The main section of the structure where they were sitting were close to the dimensions of a small house and near the end, two half circle shaped wings fanned out to the side, which made the whole place feel cozy and snug. The tall curved ceiling, made of the same transparent glass as the walls, gave the conservatory a more lofty feeling by letting in copious amounts of sunlight. Plants of varying shades of dark to emerald green were planted around them. Many of the plants were flowering, producing clusters of dainty florets while others were large blossoms that stood full and proud.

It took a second for Chibi Usa to remember that it was the day after and she was with Ophelia and her senshi. She hastily pushed back the last remnants of last night's memories and smiled awkwardly as she tried to settle herself back into the wicker chair.

"I'm sorry, what was it that you said Ophelia?"

Ophelia took no offense and smiled warmly at her guest. "I thought everyone might like to try some pastries since we didn't get a chance to enjoy them yesterday. Would you like to try some?"

A silver tray arranged with delicate and tasty looking cookies and cakes snacks has been placed on the center table. Yellow and pink little macaroons, fruity cakes no bigger than a half-dollar, various tea cookies plain or dipped in chocolate and other various treats that instantly peaked Chibi Usa's sweet tooth.

"Oh yes, please." Chibi Usa nodded guiltily and helped herself to a small green-tea colored biscuit made into the shape of a wavy leaf. The other girls helped themselves as well. Palla-Palla finished one of the macaroons in one bite and eagerly reached out for one of the cakes.

Cere-Cere slapped her sister's outgoing hand and chided, "Palla-Palla watch your manners. Food like this is meant to be eaten one small bite at a time."

Palla-Palla wrinkled her big cerulean blue eyes at her sister and looked across the table. "But Ves-Ves and Jun-Jun are doing the same thing."

True enough, the green and red haired Amazonese sisters were both tossing back the food like popcorn.

Cere-Cere could slowly feel a stress mark developing on her forehead. "Do the three of you remember nothing that Jupiter-sensei taught us?" she said gruffly. "At this rate you three are going to finish the whole thing before the rest of us have done so much as taste a morsel!" Hearing this Hotaru tried to hide a giggle behind her cup and Jun-Jun and Ves-Ves stopped and a dusting of pink colored their cheeks.

Jun-Jun put her plate down and said "Give us a break Cere-Cere, it's hard to remember those rules when we're so far from Crystal Tokyo."

Ophelia laughed. "It's fine, I'm glad that you enjoy them. Feel free to have as much as you like."

Chibi Usa watched the interplay as she nibbled on the snack. The cookie was light and fluffy, not too sweet and it nicely complimented the fragrant tea they were drinking. The warm aroma of the tea brought back memories of Makoto's cooking, her family, and what's more, home. It also reminded the princess of the reason why she was away from all that and of the dream that had taken up her mind so completely before. Chibi Usa looked to Ophelia and asked "Ophelia, do you know when Helios might have time today? I would like to talk to him."

At the mention of Helios' name, Ophelia gently lowered her cup to its saucer before answering. "I believe he has a meeting right about now and after that he is scheduled to have lessons with Horatio." Ophelia was smiling as she spoke but the hint of hesitation in her voice betrayed her concern. "My brother told me that His Majesty is also set to meet with the generals to see how well the preparations for the army is proceeding in the late afternoon, so…it's hard to say when he has any free time."

The last of Ophelia's sentences surprised Chibi Usa but the events from the tea party were still fresh in her mind and it felt jolting to be reminded of the knowledge, that despite the calm all around her, this country was currently at war.

"I see, never mind then..." the princess attempted a smile and lowered her eyes as her index finger absently traced the golden rim of her cup.

The other girls grew quiet as the reminder of the war settled into the room. Faces stared into their teacups or glanced uncertainly at each other as they feel into an awkward silence. Seeing everyone's mood suddenly dampen, Ophelia as the hostess, felt responsible to cheer her guests up again. She sat quietly thinking for a moment when an idea entered her head.

"I was thinking," she began, "would all of you be interested in taking a day-trip to the city? There are many things to see and places to go here in Elsinore. It would be a shame if you didn't get a chance to see them during your stay here."

At this suggestion, the Quartet's eyes began to sparkle with interest. "Day-trip? As in shopping?" Cere-Cere said hopefully.

Ophelia nodded. "The markets in Elsinore are world famous because so many traders from around the globe come here."

While Cere-Cere was grinning to herself as she fantasized about her future shopping spree, Palla-Palla chirped in eagerly "Ophelia-sama is there yummy treats that Palla-Palla can eat if she comes?"

"Oh yes, there are a lot of things you can try Palla-Palla," Ophelia answered with an amused smile.

"I'm with the blue one on that!" Ves-Ves said.

"Yeah, now this is more like a school trip!" Jun-Jun grinned.

Chibi Usa peripherally heard Hotaru ask, "But if people were to recognize our identity wouldn't that cause a lot of trouble? The six of us might pass since we have just arrived and hardly anyone here knows us but…"

"We don't have to take any attendants with us, if that is what concerns you Tomoe-san." Ophelia touched the rose in her hair "And as long as I don't wear these in public people shouldn't recognize me too easily."

"That's good," Hotaru smiled. To Chibi Usa, she said, "It sure does sound like a lot of fun doesn't it Chibi Usa-chan?"

Hearing her name, Chibi Usa looked up sharply. "Huh? Oh yeah…" As she shifted her body to try and be more attentive, Chibi Usa did not remember the cup that was sitting in her lap and her movement caused some of the contents to spill over into her lap.

"Wah!" Chibi Usa cried and tried to dry the small darkened patch on her skirt with a napkin. "I'm sorry Ophelia but is there a washroom nearby?"

"Yes, there's one in the nearby guestrooms, I will lead you there." She was about to rise but Chibi Usa shook her head.

"It's all right, I think I remember passing by it on the way here," the embarrassed princess smiled feebly, stood up and began to leave.

Hotaru put her cup on the table and said, "I'll go with you Chibi Usa-chan." Looking to Ophelia, she said, "Please excuse us Ophelia-san, we'll be back in just a moment."

Ophelia nodded understandingly and watched as the two girls left the conservatory.

In the empty guestroom, Chibi Usa picked up a towel, dampened it, and patted it against the stain. Hotaru watched her friend move silently. Chibi Usa glanced at Hotaru and smiled. "You didn't have to come with me, Hotaru-chan."

Hotaru looked pensively at the marble floor before she stepped closer to her best friend. "Chibi Usa-chan, something's been bothering you lately," she said not as a question but as a statement.

"Well…Sort of..." The pink haired princess admitted and her narrow shoulders heaved with a small sigh.

Chibi Usa looked up at her reflection in the washroom mirror. "I don't know, maybe it's just a lot of little things getting to me. Adjusting to a new environment and such, but what happened yesterday…" her eyes shifted from the mirror and she went to put the towel back on the rack before facing Hotaru. "Ophelia is treating us so kindly even when something very bad is taking place in the background. I know she doesn't want us to worry but I can also tell she's concerned! I feel like I should do something and not just sit idly by the side and do nothing."

"…Sometimes it is necessary to take action to help others, Chibi Usa-chan," Hotaru said "But at other times it is best to let people work things out on their own."

Chibi Usa's brows arched in surprise but Hotaru looked to her friend to let her finish. "Ophelia-san is trying to take our attention from the war because she doesn't want us as guests, to become involved in a matter that could drag in more people than already necessary. If we were to get involved then we might drag Earth into this as well."

Chibi Usa frowned hard. She understood the logic in Hotaru's advice. But at the same time her chest felt stuffy and constrained upon hearing those words.

The two girls wordlessly set out for the conservatory after that. On their way past a windowed hallway, Chibi Usa looked down and saw a spot of white moving across the courtyard. She slowed down and moved closer to the window.

Helios was with a group of people including Laertes and Horatio and they were walking towards the main palace building. Laertes was saying something and Helios was listening attentively when Horatio made a remark. Chibi Usa couldn't hear what they said but whatever the captain said made Laertes scowl and Helios smile.

Chibi Usa's eyes followed Helios' smiling face until he disappeared behind a roll of trees lining the side of the courtyard. As she watched his figure moving across the sunny courtyard, Chibi Usa realized that she too was smiling.

Don't get involved, Hotaru had advised. As much as Chibi Usa knew that was the wise thing to do, she couldn't ignore the fact that Helios had already gotten involved. Looking at how seriously he took to the matter, she thought he must want to pull through this crisis, and perhaps she could understand a little bit of the reason why. He had ties here, to Horatio, to Ophelia, to people she hadn't met who have become his friends. He was going to stay here to do what he can to protect them in this plight.

Chibi Usa stared momentarily into the glass before her feet set themselves on course again. If Helios was going to stand by the people he cared about here then she will stand by his side. It would seem then that despite what others said and did, she had been involved right from the start of this journey. And if that dream was an indication of what might befall him, then Chibi Usa was all the more certain of what she wanted to do.

"Chibi Usa-chan, what are you doing? Come on," Hotaru called from the end of the hallway.

"Coming!" Chibi Usa picked up her pace and ran towards her friend.

_No matter what…_The image of Helios dissolving into a scattered cloud of petals reappeared in her mind. _I will protect Helios, without fail!_

Chibi Usa walked back into the conservatory where the Quartet was having an energetic conversation with Ophelia. Seeing her return, Ophelia asked "Did the stain come out all right?"

"Yes," Chibi Usa smiled as she resumed her seat "It's only a small stain and hardly visible so it's alright."

Ophelia nodded "That's good." She looked back at the Quartet "These girls were telling me about Earth and Palla-Palla had just mentioned a dessert called a chocolate sundae that she likes very much." Ophelia smiled at Palla-Palla and the blue haired girl nodded enthusiastically. "Palla-Palla will make one for Ophelia-sama one day!"

"You don't even know how to use a blender Palla-Palla" Jun-Jun said teasingly.

Palla-Palla gave her sister a dirty look, "At least Palla-Palla can use a fork". That statement made Jun-Jun redden as the green haired Amazonese remembered her own embarrassing encounter with a fork and boiled snow peas on the first day of Etiquette class.

Everybody giggled and now it was Jun-Jun's turn to look smug.

As everyone relaxed from the sisters' bantering, a servant walked into the room and bowed slightly to Ophelia. "Ophelia-sama, Poloniu-sama wishes to see you."

Ophelia's eyes widened and her thin eyebrows frowned in confusion. "Father?" she looked sideways at her guests whose eyes has all fallen on her at her soft exclamation. "Is it urgent?" she asked quietly.

The servant paused and said in a low voice, "He did not say but he is waiting outside right now."

"I see…" she said to herself. Back to her guests, she said politely "I'm sorry but I will be back in just a minute."

The girls watched Ophelia got up and left with the servant walking in front to open the door for her. "Is Ophelia-sama talking to her papa, Small Lady-sama?" Palla-Palla asked as she watched the door curiously.

Chibi Usa nodded but from the way Ophelia reacted, she couldn't help but feel a hint of anxiety. "I wonder if it's something serious…" she said half to herself.

Ves-Ves winked. "Only one way to find out." The red haired Amazonese got up from her seat and moved towards the door.

Jun-Jun and Cere-Cere exchanged knowing glances and copied their sister.

"Guys!" Chibi Usa yelled from where she sat. "You guys shouldn't be eaves dropping!"

However the princess' abhorrence did little to deter the Amazonese. Palla-Palla came up and took Chibi Usa and Hotaru's hand and pulled them towards the door to join her sisters. "Don't worry Small Lady-sama! Venus-sensei told us this is called 'surveillance' so it's okay!"

Chibi Usa sweatdropped inside and not for the first time, wondered about Sailor Venus' teaching credentials. Still, Chibi Usa thought to herself, Ophelia's expression did worry her and she couldn't ignore a friend who might be in need. Thus, she and Hotaru reluctantly joined the pack of eaves droppers.

Jun-Jun put a finger to her lips before Ves-Ves carefully opened a crack in the door.

From the thin space between the doors the peeping teenagers saw Ophelia with her back to them. Polonius stood in front of her, his left hand resting over the top of his walking stick, his other hand tucked behind his back. As the girls strained their ears, they could make out Polonius' low baritone voice as he said, "…got word from the Assembly that there will be some…"

Palla-Palla leaned forward to hear but in doing so edged out Ves-Ves who whined, "Hey, you're blocking my view!" Cere-Cere turned around and shushed her sisters and the two quieted down grudgingly.

Outside the father and daughter remained unaware of the intrusion and Polonius continued to say, "…starting tomorrow the palace guardian duty will be transfered over to you."

Ophelia's voice sounded profoundly confused as she said, "But isn't that Horatio's responsibility? Why would that duty be given to me…?" Her sentence was cut short when she took a sharp breath as if a sudden thought had struck her. Chibi Usa noticed this passing gesture and saw Ophelia's head and shoulders droop. After that Ophelia must have said something as Polonius spoke to her and placed a supporting hand on her shoulder, but his voice was too low to hear as well.

By now all of the girls were pressing tightly against the door, concentrating hard like cat burglars with their ears pressed against a safe that they were trying to crack. Finally Chibi Usa was able to make out a part of Polonius' sentence as he said, "…this is hard for you, I understand my daughter, but you must be strong for His Majesty." After a moment, Ophelia looked up at her father and he returned his hand to his side. "Helios-sama will depart with the main branch of the army and head for the frontline the day after tomorrow. We will see them off when they set out at dawn" the statesman gently informed his daughter

"I know Father; I will be there," was all Ophelia said. Polonius nodded his approval and started walking away. Ophelia remained where she stood and for several seconds showed no signs of moving.

Jun-Jun pulled her face away from the door and frowned. "Boy, that doesn't sound good." Turning around the green haired Amazonese was startled when she noticed all the color seemed to have drained from Chibi Usa's cheeks.

* * *

Not long after Ophelia made to rejoin the group, and related to them that there will have to be a change in plans. It seems they will have to put off their trip as she had been given a new duty to perform that requires her presence in the palace at all times. 

After brunch had ended, Ophelia walked with the Solar System senshi through the palace. The Quartet, sobered by what they heard but also disappointed that their trip had been postponed indefinitely, were no longer their normal jovial selves.

"I don't get it, why do they have to make you guard the palace? Couldn't they call in a general or something and hand him the job?" Ves-Ves fumed, although more on Ophelia's behave than her own indignation.

Ophelia looked back at the red head and said, "All of the generals have been called upon to lead the army. I don't mind honestly, since this is more of an extension of my duty as a senshi, but…" her voice drifted off and she turned her face away.

The four Amazonese looked at her back expectedly but when the lilac haired girl did not continue they could only shrug.

Chibi Usa hung at the back of the group. Hotaru was by her side as always but the dark haired girl was looking worriedly at her friend and princess. Chibi Usa's expression had become grim ever since they had heard Ophelia's conversation with Polonius. As Hotaru recalled what Polonius had said, she could well understand why her best friend was so upset. If Helios was going to go off with the army, it means he will be putting himself in mortal danger. What perplexed Hotaru was why did Helios agree to take up this task. It seemed contrary to his personality, to take up arms, much less lead thousands to do so. Hotaru couldn't help but wonder if Helios' decision to do this was due to his own volition or if he was forced into it.

A noise startled Hotaru out of her thoughts and caught the attention of the others. The source of the sound became clear when they passed by the guarded doors of the training room. Seeing Ophelia, the guards moved aside and the girls entered the room.

Inside Horatio and Helios were sparring. Horatio's sword came down and met the steel of Helios' sword. The sharp clash of noise made Chibi Usa cringe. The two weapons pushed against each other as each quivered from the force applied by its wielder. Both boys were breathing heavily. Helios' expression was focused but strained as sweat dripped from his face. He pulled away and readied himself again.

Horatio was sweating from the exertion as well but his face was calm as he prepared for the thrust from the prince. Swords flashed in the sunlight that illuminated the room. Horatio stepped back from each of Helios' lunges and it would seemed Helios was gaining the upper hand when the young captain ducked and caught the blade of Helios' sword at the base of his own weapon, twisted his wrist and forced Helios' to pull away his sword.

"Helios-sama, Captain Horatio," Ophelia spoke at that moment and the two young men stepped away to notice the others' presence for the first time.

"Oh Ophelia, Princess, when did you guys come in?" Horatio asked in his straightforward manner, a big friendly smile breaking the expressionless mien he had before.

"We were just passing by," Ophelia explained "The princess and her friends just had brunch with me."

"You're pretty good back there," Jun-Jun complimented Horatio.

"Yes, you have very firm but fluid control with that sword," Cere-Cere smirked coquettishly.

"Why thank you, ladies." Horatio made a small bow in the girl's direction.

Ves-Ves twisted the corner of her mouth up in a grin "but I'll bet us ladies can show you a thing or two," she looked at her sisters who returned her grin. "After all Mars-sensei did teach us quite a few things when it comes to close range combat."

Horatio smiled back at them and raised a curious eyebrow "Really now…would you care to give me a quick demonstration?" he put down the sword he had been holding and stepped back to the practice area.

"Four on one? We wouldn't want anyone to think we're being unfair though," Jun-Jun commented.

"That's all right, the more the merrier," Horatio smiled brightly.

With that said, the Quartet vanished from sight.

The red headed Ves-Ves came right for Horatio and threw a jab at him. Horatio easily dodged but not before finding Jun-Jun already beside him. Jun-Jun dropped her body down and attempted to sweep the captain's feet out from under him but Horatio avoided her attack with a quick leap backwards. Palla-Palla cart wheeled towards him, trying to land a kick but Horatio reacted quickly and got out of the way. Palla-Palla, being the ball-balancing magician, recovered her balance perfectly. Just as Horatio thought he was getting the upperhand, he felt a tap on his shoulder. When he turned around he was met by Cere-Cere who blew a hand full of flower petals into his face.

Horatio blinked in surprise and as the petals fall to the floor, he saw that the Quartet were standing in a circle around him.

After a moment's pause, Horatio laughed. "Haha, you girls really are pretty good!" This made the Quartet smile in satisfaction. Horatio's expression sobered a little as he said thoughtfully, "It would be great if we could have you on our side in a fight…especially at a time like now."

"That won't be necessary."

All eyes turned to Helios who had been standing off to the side while the sparring took place. He now stood facing the girls and as Chibi Usa turned from the Quartet to her prince, their eyes met.

"Why not? We'll do anything we can to help. I'm sure there's something we can do…"

"I understand, but for you to get involved in this is too dangerous," the white haired boy said imploringly. "There's no guaranteeing what could happen with this war!"

"But we can take care of ourselves! We are-I am- a Sailor Senshi; I can fight!" Chibi Usa argued. By now the two of them were standing face to face while Ophelia, Horatio, Hotaru, and the Quartet stood watching silently nearby.

"Even a senshi cannot fight every single battle that comes her way, Chibi Usa-chan," Helios pleaded, his face in a deep frown.

"But _you_ will?" Chibi Usa whispered.

Helios was stunned into silence for a few seconds. But then his eyes narrowed and he answered quietly "I have to."

Chibi Usa stared at Helios in incredulity. The princess opened her mouth to speak but she couldn't suppress a quiver that made her lips tremble and slammed her mouth shut again. Unable to speak, she looked up and saw Helios' face. The normally warm and accepting amber orbs were steeled even though his lips revealed his own displeasure with the decision. However the only thing Chibi Usa saw in her mind were Helios' unyielding eyes and she tore her gaze away from them and ran from the room.

"Chibi Usa-chan!" Hotaru followed her best friend and raced out the room. A worried Ophelia watched Chibi Usa and Hotaru storm out of the room. She hurriedly curtsied to Helios and followed the two girls. The Quartet, all of whom had been shocked into silence, looked between themselves uncertainly for a moment before they too followed suit.

With only Horatio left in the room, the captain looked at his liege. He was about to say something to Helios but instead, it was Helios who spoke first.

"…Maybe this is for the best."

Horatio said nothing after he heard that. However, he wondered if Helios had said that to him or if it was to himself.

* * *

The rattling of a carriage clattered dully against the air of an ill-used mountain road, with only two lonely lanterns lit beside the driver's seat to throw some meager light against the consuming night. The moons were covered by a thick, low hanging fog, making the air cold and damp at the same time. The periodic sounds of snapping branches and leaves scratching across the coach showed how thick the surrounding woods were, caving in around the vehicle, rasping it with its claw tips. 

The light from the lanterns found some relief when they came left the forest behind and illuminated a tall stone wall. The outlines of a large iron gate appeared and the carriage stopped in front of it. The driver hopped off his seat and with an apprehensive look, rushed to open the door for his master. A figure draped in a long traveling cloak descended from the coach, and approached the gate. As the figure stood there, not sure how to announce his presence, the gates spread open and a roll of torch lights suddenly lit up a path. The cloaked figure hesitated, even taking a step back nervously before he forced himself on and began walking up the road laid out for him.

After a lengthy walk with only the torch lights and the black outlines of the surrounding woods visible, the figure came upon a large mansion, sitting hauntingly still in the dark. Once at the doorsteps the doors once again opened by themselves, revealing a dimly lit foyer. The figure halted again and made an audible gulp that echoed into the empty lobby. A sudden moment beside him made the cloaked figure jump, but when he saw it was only a moth he made a sigh of relief. Gathering up his nerves, the figure walked into the foyer and was greeted by a smooth cold voice.

"It's not everyday now that people happen upon my gates." The cloaked man looked up and saw a thin willowy woman walked out of the darkness of the balcony staircase. By her side stood two wolf hounds, both black as a moon-less night and were so large their heads were level with their mistress' waist. Their sharp triangular ears twitched back and forth as they fixed their dark eyes on the stranger, watching him warily.

The woman's pale green hair was long and thick, with two long strands by her ears that dropped down to her knees, the rest pulled back in a neat bun behind her head. It seemed the visitor had arrived at an inopportune time as she was dressed in a silk dressing gown, and must have arouse from her sleep to meet her guest. The gown was the shade of green found on venomous snakes and the woman's movement reminded the visitor of a snake's slick movements. The most striking feature about her though, was not her clothes or her sinuous figure but her eyes. They were large and almond shaped and her irises were pale yellow, piercing through the gloom like an eagle ready to swoop down on its prey.

"Good evening Hecate-sama," The cloaked figure hailed.

Hecate smiled grimly. "Enough with the foreplay. Now tell me, why you have come here?" she asked briskly as she made her way down the stairs, the tip of her dress lapping the edge of the stairs as she moved down. "Nobody comes to see me for small talk. I have made sure that the curious villagers around this area learned to respect my solitude…the hard way." She petted the heads of one of her hounds. "I let you in because I wanted to see if you are a mad man and if not, perhaps you might make a juicy meal for my pets," she looked at him darkly with narrowed eyes.

The visitor cleared his throat. "In that case, it must be hard to catch news of what has happened in the world lately," he said regretfully but with caution in his choice of words.

Hecate began to turn around, disinterested. "I don't care happens in Rhodes or anywhere else for that matter. This country can sink into the sea for all I care." With half her face turned to the midnight visitor, she said "Now I would suggest you leave before my hounds _really_ get hungry."

"Ye-yes…but what about news regarding the royal family?" the figure stuttered. "Surly you must be interested in that."

Hecate's eyes, an eerie golden color in the dim lit, grew wide then narrowed. "Don't presume anything with me…" she said menacingly and as if sensing their mistress' mood, the two hounds by her heels snarled, baring their sharp fangs.

The intimidated guest paused but regained his wits about enough to say, "I dare not Hecate-sama, but we have a common enemy. Although it may be for different reasons but the royal family is a sore in both our eyes."

"I don't want to think about Thea or anything that has to do with her! She and her line had been erased and that is good enough for me." So saying Hecate turned and walked back up the stairs.

"Helios is alive! And he's been brought back to Rhodes. He had been living on a foreign planet for the past ten years even though the official story is that he had been kidnapped by upstarts and lost on the Continent," the figure said quickly but quietly.

Hecate froze. "He's alive…that explains why she…" Her voice trailed off and Hecate slowly turned around and fixed her eyes suspiciously on her visitor, "You tell me this but why do you need me?"

"The royal blood line has not been wiped out as many thought it was or would've liked it to be. Now some of the old crones are trying to reinstate Helios to the throne but I doubt they will succeed since quite a number of them only pretend to support him. There is however, the possibility that the young upstarts that surround him might encourage him to take more control as time goes on, so it would be most convenient to take him out now!"

The figure now had Hecate's full attention. He continued, "Very recently, Macedonia has invaded Rhodes, and it has already been decided that the Prince shall led the campaign against the invaders." From the inner pocket of his cloak, the figure pulled out a white envelop closed with a red seal. "It would be very unfortunate if the Prince were to be killed in an ambush on his way to the battlefield."

"But you need a messenger who can get through to the Macedonia king, undetected." Hecate whispered.

"It is entirely your choice Hecate-sama. Think about it. His death will mean the end of your long suffering."

Hecate's eyes shifted, but her expression twisted into a mien of cold distain. "No…the pain his family inflicted will never disappear, but knowing he will be joining his mother in the afterlife does bring me great satisfaction." She paused "Very well then, I will perform this favor; for your good and mine." Hecate moved her hand and the envelope from the visitor's hand floated into hers.

"But I'm curious," Hecate said in a thoughtful tone. "Just who are you? It's rude to hide your face when you are speaking to an ally."

The figure demurred visibly. "For the sake of safety I am afraid I cannot reveal myself to you. But please believe me when I say that I am well and truly an ally." He bowed deeply.

Hecate scuffed, "Fine then. I will deliver this for you, but there better be no tricks involved, or else you will regret the night you set foot in my mansion."

"Of course not, good night my lady." And with that the figure bowed out and left.

Hecate however, stood on the stairs, fiddling with the envelope in her hands. She touched the top of the envelope to her face, tapping it gently against her lip as she contemplated something before lowering it. Her hounds sniffed at the object in their mistress' hand and growled.

"Smells like treachery doesn't it?" Hecate said but she smiled instead. With her free hand she held out her hand and a small green fire began to dance on her palm. The flame shifted and took the shape of a small green moth, its wing tips flickers as it flew into the air, shaking off tiny embers that resembled the dusty scales of a real moth.

"What a fool, thinking he can manipulate me into becoming the scapegoat…" She watched as the ethereal moth flew off into the night on the trail of the late night visitor. "Unfortunately for him when it comes to playing hide-and-seek, I always win."

* * *

A/N Wow, this chapter took eight months to finish, much longer than I had expected. I apologize for making the readers wait so long. I think a lot of readers probably think I've given up on this story but let me reassure you, I have not. It's just that life and school have taken up a good chuck of my free time and periodic writer's block have also been a factor. I've also become involved in another fandom recently, that of the anime "Princess Tutu". I am head-over-heels in love with it right now and am also working on a fanfic for that fandom, and school is about to start again so my time will be even more strapped (sweat drops). Still, I WILL keep working on this fanfic, I can only hope it doesn't take me another eight months to update (cross fingers). But as always, please leave a review and tell me what you think about my story. 


	11. Exchange of Letters

**Act 9 "Exchange of Letters"**

Fog rolled over the tall grass of an open field. The outline of the sun was barely visible as a fuzzy orb in the sky. At the edge of the field stood rolls of soldiers standing in formation, their blue uniforms dotted with the tiny droplets of mist that had condensed on the rough fabric. A commander, his armor dulled to a hazy gray by use, rod up and down the line, inspecting his men while he kept a weary eye on the horizon.

Except for the periodic rustling of arms and clothing, there were no other sounds from the men. A wild fowl made a noise somewhere in the tall grass, startling a few nervous hands.

A young soldier looked up to his commander and whispered in a tiny voice, "General Triopas, sir, shouldn't we do something? We're just sitting here-"

Triopas snapped sharply at the young man, "Don't be stupid! We have to wait for the enemy to make their move first, or would you prefer charging in blind in this weather?"

The soldier winced at the words of his commander and huddled himself back down.

The general pulled his steed around, and pretended to inspect the rest of his troops but inside, he too was worried about their current situation. The fog was both an advantage as well as a disadvantage. Neither side could fire artilleries in this weather since sighting would be impossible, but the fog also canceled the enemy's location, leaving them open to any brazen surprise attacks.

A murmur suddenly reached general's ears and the soldiers around him were leaning forward, staring at something. Thinking they might have spotted the first signs of an offensive, he rushed down the line, anticipating an attack. Instead of the roar of enemy soldiers, no one heard anything.

"What is it?" Triopas demanded as he pulled on his horse's reins, making the animal shift back and forth nervously.

A major ran down the line and quickly saluted. "Something is coming towards us sir," he pointed his head towards the veil of fog.

The commander looked harder, squinting his thick brows tightly together. What he saw and what his men were mumbling about were half a dozen large polished black spheres.

"What in bloody hell are those?" Triopas muttered to himself as the spheres got closer and each man in the line looked on, relaxing their grip around their weapons, mystified by these strange objects. When the spheres stopped a few feet away from them, the men had their first clear look at these queer objects.

Even though each was the size of a large melon, they were floating freely above the ground. It wasn't until the men saw the burning fuse, now no more than a little stub and the cartoon-esque skull and crossbones, that it became apparent what these objects were, but it was already too late.

The bombs exploded in sequence as chaos took control of the soldiers and people scattered in panic. Red and orange plums engulfed everything nearby, creating a cloud of fire and burning amber.

At the other end of the field where a small ledge overlooked the plains, a man cloaked in regal red sitting atop a white horse smiled faintly in satisfaction. He looked with cool blue eyes at the five mounted figures behind him. Below them was the massive army holding a forest of banners, flags, and weapons advancing toward the defending line of Rhodian soldiers.

"Well done, Citrine," he said to a man wearing an embroidered orange coat with twin gold-fringed epaulettes on his shoulders, and a puffy wide ribbon tied handsomely around the collar.

"Thanks you Demetrius-sama; your approval is the highest possible praise for me!" Citrine gushed happily and sparkles almost seemed to glitter in the background. "I designed those bombs just for this occasion!"

"Ah, and what an interesting design you've chosen," another voice remarked bemusedly.

Citrine's well-manicured eyebrow twitched at this. He superciliously tossed back a stray strand of his pink sausage curled hair, causing the laced cuffs poking out from the coat sleeve to ripple slightly at the movement. Turning to the speaker, he protested, "It is a matter of personal taste, Peridot. And as long as it does what Demetrius-sama wants, I do not see what the problem is with a little artistic license."

Peridot laughed in a light voice. He wore a loose white turban with a single large green jewel in the center, while the tail of the turban draped across his shoulder. Small curls of dark hair slipped past the binding, their ends touching his brown-sugar colored skin.

"Relax, it's not like I'm holding it against you. We are both artists in our own ways; I don't want to be a hypocrite. Just think of it as a casual remark from a peer," Peridot replied and gave his comrade a playful wink. His long lustrous robe with multiple shades of green, blue and yellow shifted with the slight breeze when he spoke; the round eyes-like pattern on the coat resembled a handsome peacock's tail in full bloom. Underneath he wore a high collared shirt that ends above his midriff, buttoned by a neat role of small round buttons down the center of his chest. Around his waist was a length of smooth emerald-shaded silk, tied above a pair of loose ivory colored harem pants and simple heel-less white slippers.

"The enemy is confused and distracted, now would be a good time to attack," said a different man with a deep voice, whose broad shoulders were twice as wide as either Citrine or Peridot's and rode a black mount that towered above all the other steeds.

His ebony hair was braided into two thin tails running down the sides of his face; his stiff gazed eyes half hidden under a fur rimmed bronze helmet, polished like a mirror. His armor too, was made of the hard, polished material, with a scarlet jacket peeping out from under the metal. Some once fierce beast's magnificent pelt covered his left shoulder and the armor underneath it. The fur also served as a tunic and was tied at the waist by a broad leather belt. Around the man's hips hung twin blades, broad at the head and slightly curved; the menace of those steely blades hidden behind their scabbards. Two more pairs of swords were held across his back, with their belts strapped tightly across his wide chest. All of these weapons had a short length of tattered red rag through the hole of the pommel which fluttered slightly when the air moved.

Demetrius smiled again and turned his head to the broad shouldered man with his many swords. "Do you wish to lead the charge, Pyrope?"

Pyrope bowed his head humbly. "It would be my honor."

"Very well then," the young leader cocked his head slightly behind him and said, "Indicolite, you are to bring up the rear. Be prepared to launch your droids at my command."

A willowy young man with a head of short, rather ruffled ink-blue hair nodded. He wore a simple coat over a caramel colored vest and white shirt. His small frame, the bright but narrow black eyes behind a pair of black rimmed glasses, and rather studious appearance made him look out of place with the rest of the men around him. "Yes sir," he answered meekly.

Pyrope nodded in turn at his master's words. He drew one of the swords from his side and cried out a thundering war cry that echoed through the hollow air. His men down below the hill with red banners flying responded to his call with a cry of their own, shaking aside the sleepiness that had hid the massive army's presence, now made know.

The fog itself seemed to retreat at the noise of a mobilizing army, revealing a forest of silver gray flags, each printed with a black eagle, its head colored gold. Streamers of five different colors rose beside the main eagle flag as the war machine began to move out, with the squadron of red flag in the lead.

* * *

It was evening by the time Demetrius walked back into his tent. The first battle of his campaign into Rhodes has been a complete success. With that behind him, the white haired young man's lips curved in a small, satisfied smile. It went unseen by the armed soldiers guarding the door, who bowed their heads as he passed. 

The tent was made from a waterproofed canvas draped across eight support beams and a large central beam. The emblem of Macedonia, the gold and black eagle, was draped across four sides of the tent. The inside of the tent was spacious, it being the largest structure in the encampment. The floor was covered with lush carpets and a screen stood behind a large gilded chair made from fine cherry wood placed atop a low podium. Oil lamps were placed around the tent, creating blotches of light and shadow under the canopy.

Demetrius undid the three buckles tied across the front of his long red robe and walked behind the linen screen where two servants began to help him undress.

A voice outside spoke into the tent, "We have brought the Rhodean general as you wished, Your Majesty."

"Good, bring him in."

With that two strong soldiers pushed and shoved the boldly uncooperative general, now bound tightly with his hands behind his back.

"You bastard! Spineless coward!" Triopas had cursed the entire time since he was captured and despite his position with the armed soldiers behind him, their weapons pointed threateningly to his back, he kept going. "If you think you can overrun this land think again! We will fight to the last man to defend our homeland!"

"Yes, I am quite certain you will," Demetrius' voice said dismissively from behind the screen. Hearing his enemy speaking to him, the general seized that area of the room with a hostel glare. By the light coming from behind the screen, he could see the tall but lithe outline of the young leader.

Unimpressed with what he perceived from his enemy, Triopas huffed as Demetrius walked back into the room flanked by his attendants.

"Now, I ask you to save your energy, for I have no intention of killing you," Demetrius said simply, his eyes closed as he adjusted the cuff on one of his sleeves. When he opened his eyes, the icy blue eyes and small crooked smile hanging on the lips of the young man surprised the old general. "But if you keep going on like that, I might get annoyed and change my mind," Demetrius said as he sat down on his chair.

Triopas collected himself and stared back at his captor with suspicion. "Then why have you brought me here? Do you think I will beg for mercy or perhaps betray information to you?"

While the servants stepped away, Demetrius, with a hand on his chin, appeared to be listening patiently. By the end of Triopas' declaration, Demetriod smiled. "Actually neither; I have something else in mind for you." The young leader nodded to an attendant standing by his side, who delivered a small envelope sealed with red wax into the young king's out stretched hand.

"I want you to deliver this to Elsinore, more specifically to your king – well, prince rather - I suppose," Demetrius said nonchalantly as his hand played with the envelope.

Triopas narrowed his thick brows and said thickly, "_Why should I?_"

Demetrius looked at the commander for a moment before standing from his seat, his posture still completely at ease. He walked to the kneeling man until he stood right in front of him. Demetrius knelt down so that his face was inches away from Triopas as his fingers continued to play with the paper object.

"Why? Good question." Demetrius looked up and locked eyes with Triopas. With the light completely blocked out by the youth's body, Triopas found himself mirrored in Demetrius' eyes and this time he could almost feel a chill radiating from those freezing irises.

Demetrius' voice came out in a light whisper, just loud enough for both of them to hear. "Because if you don't, Elsinore and the rest of Rhodes will be laid to waste. Burnt, conquered, ravaged by my army. I am giving you an opportunity to save her from that. If you don't believe me, think about the other countries I have claimed as my own. Would you like to see those scenes repeated here for your beloved homeland?"

Triopas' gaze began to falter. From the reports he'd been given he knew what kind of destruction the Macedonian army had brought to the countries of the Continent. For Rhodes to experience something like that, it would create a long lasting scar to the island nation. Triopas swallowed forcefully, and tore his eyes away from Demetrius' glare.

Seeing the commander relent, Demetrius smiled brightly.

"Good."

He tucked the envelope into a fold in Triopas' armor and stood up. "I will give you a horse to ride back to Elsinore. But be sure to deliver the letter to Helios himself and ask him to read it." He turned around, and with a wave of his hand, the soldiers standing at attention began to remove the now silenced Rhodian commander from their leader's tent.

With Triopas gone, Demetrius stood looked down the isle at his seat and said to his attendants, "I wish to be alone for a while; you are all dismissed."

"Yes, Sire" the servants said in unison and backed out of the tent.

Left to himself Demetrius walked back and sat down. Staring into one of the torches by his side, the young man seemed to be lost in thought as he leaned on an elbow against the arm of the chair. His silver colored waistcoat seemed to shimmer in the light and the tall polished boots he wore reflected a glossed image of the flame. For several minutes the flame burned steady. When it suddenly gave a quick flicker, Demetrius smiled.

"Most people usually come in through the door when they visit someone," he said.

"But I am not visiting," a smooth voice returned.

Demetrius casually turned around and there beside the screen, was Hecate. The silky robe she wore barely covered her shoulders and was the color of fine red wine. The long sleeves of the robe were unique in that they were shaped to resemble the wings of a lunar moth. A broad obi made from a fabric that matched the lime green of Hecate's hair was twisted into a V shape at her slim waist, with the lengthier end just touching the ground. The purple-red rob opened up at the bottom to reveal fancy black lace and jet colored thigh-high boots on Hecate's slender legs.

Demetrius raised a bemused eyebrow. "Then might I ask what brings such a beautiful lady such as yourself into my tent?"

Hecate smiled back; her eyes narrowing slightly. "Are you not afraid that I might have been sent to kill you?"

Hearing this Demetrius chuckled as he got up and walked towards this self-proclaimed "non-visitor".

"Of course, that is a possibility. But if you were an assassin you wouldn't have made your presence known to me. Am I correct, Hecate-san?"

Hearing this young man utter her name, Hecate's eyes narrowed still further but her smile grew wider

"You are very well informed."

"I try to be," he shrugged.

"Oh? Well then, I think you might be interested in a little piece of information I have to offer." Hecate reached behind her back and the envelope her own late-night visitor had given her appeared, held daintily between her right middle and index fingers. She turned her hand slowly toward Demetrius. Demetrius paused and looked into Hecate's eyes before taking the envelope. Breaking the seal, Demetrius' eyes ran over the content of the letter, all the while his face appeared neutral. After finishing the letter, he folded it and smiled politely at Hecate.

"That is indeed a very interesting piece of information. Might I ask how you managed to come across it?"

Hecate studied him for a moment before she too smiled. "From someone with the information and is willing to give it out."

Demetrius nodded to himself. "I see…"

Hecate turned away and with her voice directed at the young man said, "My goal here is done; good fortunes to you, young Demetrius."

Demetrius made a mildly disappointed expression. "So soon? But I suppose the hour is late. Still, it was a pleasure meeting you Hecate-san," he said with a playful grin.

Hearing this Hecate laughed as she walked behind the screen but no outline of her form appeared as her voice faded into the air. "You're a bit too young, my boy. But thank you for the compliment."

With Hecate's voice fading into the night, Demetrius' smile widened.

* * *

By the front gate of the palace at Elsinore, the army stood in neat formations, faced toward the platform that had been constructed for this occasion. There, amidst pomp and circumstance, Valtemand was giving a speech while Helios sat behind him. Horatio stood by Helios' right, with the other leading members of the expedition flanking out to the left and right. Everyone was wearing military regalia and Helios of course, was no exception. 

His armor was light and relatively simple compared to the heavy armor some of the soldiers wore. The frosted metal sheets that make up the armor shone like sculpted snow. Faint vine patterns ran along the edges of the silvery metal plates, adding a touch of gold to the otherwise cool gray tones of the armor. Part of his white cloak was draped across the top of the breastplate and held in place below the shoulder guards, while the rest of the white fabric falls to the ground.

But despite the brightness and shine of the armor, none of that was reflected in Helios' mood. He sat looking out blankly ahead of him as Valtemand continued with his speech. When the white haired young man heard a small discrete cough, he looked up to see Horatio looking down at him. Horatio's armor was less fancy but his tall stature and the bright red cape more than compensated for the simplicity of his costume.

"You're looking out of it today. Is it because of that letter?" the captain whispered.

Helios gave a small nod. Earlier while he was getting ready for the ceremony a servant had rushed in and announced that there was a General Triopas with an urgent message.

"Triopas? But he's suppose to be leading the first defensive line isn't he? Unless…" Horatio had said when something dawned on him. Seeing the perturbed expression on Horatio's face, Helios grimaced and asked that the general be led in.

When Triopas appeared and saw Helios, he immediately knelt down and said in a broken voice, "Your Majesty!"

Helios came forward and helped the general to his feet and saw the dust and tears on the once dignified general's clothing. "What happened?" he asked, astonished.

Looking shamefaced and angry, Triopas spoke with his head bowed. "Please forgive me Your Majesty, but I was unable to protect my position. We were ambushed and overran before anyone hardly knew what was happening!"

Helios and Horatio looked at each other, both taken aback. Triopas continued and took out the letter Demetrius had given him. "I was captured by the enemy but they released me in order to deliver this letter to you. Their king – Demetrius – said that if I did not do as he said, Rhodes would meet a similar fate to all the countries that have opposed him!"

He handed the letter to Helios but he could not hold back his emotions any more and cried, "I deserved to be punished for failing to fulfill my mission! I have lived the life of a soldier all my life, but I had lost my honor and pride and gave in to the enemy's demands!"

At this, Helios looked sympathetically at the aged commander and smiled gravely. "You were doing what you thought was for the best interest of the country. Do not berate yourself, General Triopas."

Hearing the sincerity and kindness in his king's words, the General gradually collected himself and said a grateful, "Thank you, Your Majesty…"

Helios nodded, "Now, could you tell us anything about the enemy? You're forces were the only ones to have engaged them thus far, and we know little about their strategies."

Triopas took a deep breath, collecting his thoughts as he pushed his emotions fully aside.

"When the attack came, it took me and my men completely by surprise," the general recollected. "First there was a series of bombs, floating bombs in fact, and after they went off our forces were thrown into disarray. Immediately after that, one of the enemy units appeared and began cutting down men left and right. I saw one of them: a tall, broad shouldered giant; using two large broad swords, wearing armor and weapons I had never seen before. Although his appearance was foreign, I dare say that I have never seen a man so fierce in battle before. I thought he was probably a general in their ranks.

I reined in my mount, wanting to challenge him. But before I could get to him something came up very quickly from behind me. I turned to look but all I saw was the top of a metallic looking object. Now that I think about it, I think it might've had a face since I think I saw eyes and a nose. But it all happened so fast. Whatever it was, it stung me and all I could remember was a sharp sting in the back of my neck and waking up captured and bound in the enemy's camp. After a while some soldiers then led me to see their leader, and afterwards he gave me that letter."

Helios drew a slow breath. Bombs, a fierce giant-like warrior, and a mysterious metallic figure with the ability to render a large man unconscious with one strike; the enemy certainly has many tricks and methods up its sleeve. However these three methods were so different, that it was hard to imagine they were employed by one individual yet they have proven to be extremely efficient strategically. The bombs went off first to create panic, the warrior leading his troops were then able to charge into the confused lines and took advantage of the confusion, and lastly something was used to subdue the opposing army's leader but left him unharmed so he might deliver a message.

Demetrius, Helios recalled the Macedonian king's name. The unfathomable methods of this man was chilling, and a quiver of doubt wriggled into Helios' mind as he wondered if he was capable of defeating someone like this.

Forcing his doubt aside for now, Helios said to Triopas, "Thank you. At least now we know a little bit more about the enemy. Take some time to recover your strength General; we will need you to take the field again very soon."

Triopas keeled, and bowed his head in deep gratitude. "I am eternally grateful for Your Majesty's kindness. Upon the high Heavens, I swear I will not fail you again!"

After a few more words were exchanged, Triopas was ushered out and Helios turned his attention to the letter in his hand. A servant offered him a letter knife which Helios took and used to break the seal on the envelope. Inside was a single sheet of high quality parchment, with words written in a slack but educated and clean handwriting.

"_To Helios of Rhodes,_

_As you read this my army has defeated one regiment of your army. At this rate, I daresay within a week's time I will be within firing range of Elsinore. If that were to happen I am sure the damage to both civilian and infrastructure would be tremendous, if not devastating._

_That is why I am now offering you an alternative. _

_I propose that you and I meet face to face, and settle this matter between us with a duel. I promise you that the duel will be fair, and if you are victorious my army will immediately retreat from Rhodes. If however, you were to loose, then I will claim Rhodes as my own and throw the entire might of my army behind capturing her. _

_I eagerly await your answer in two day's time. Please decide wisely. _

_Sincerely, Demetrius_"

Helios's eyes frowned deeply over the letter. Horatio saw the change in Helios' expression and Helios handed the paper to him. After a minute, Horatio's angry voice cried, "What kind of a challenge is that!? I'd never seen anyone so arrogant in my life, and that's just coming from a letter!"

Helios sighed. "Arrogant maybe, but…he does have a point. I don't want the people here to suffer something that could be avoided."

Horatio looked at Helios, aghast. "Helios, you're not actually thinking of-!"

"No…" Helios answered quickly but the words following it died off. He sighed heavily and his eyes fell back onto the paper, and an uneasy feeling swelled up in him about the person who penned this letter.

The letter had since been shown to the members of the Royal Assembly, but they have sworn to secrecy to not let the matter leak out, least it disturbs morale. Though the matter of the letter had been hushed, the impression of the letter on Helios had not diminished.

The palpable confidence in those words, the slight sarcasm and even playfulness in the sentences; these produced a slightly disturbing image of a person in Helios' mind. Helios knew the mention of civilian looses only served as enticement for him, and it did not seem as if Demetrius really carried about their welfare. The Macedonia leader also did not say how the answer was going to be received yet he seemed so sure of it in the letter. It was as if everything was within this man's controls, that he knew exactly what was going to happen.

_But why does he want to fight me one on one?_ He asked himself. He had a few hypotheses, one was which might be due to Demetrius' arrogance as Horatio had said, but somehow that didn't seem like the real reason. His focus returned to Valtemand who was finishing his speech.

"Now, brothers, take up your weapons and defend our sacred homeland! For the sake of our homes, we shall not be overpowered; we shall prevail!"

The crowd of soldiers cheered loudly at those words. Helios watched them, his heart secretly heavy with trepidation. Closing his amber eyes, Helios prayed silently to a shrine faraway that those brave words would come true, and the hopes and dreams of million will somehow be spared.

* * *

After the ceremony was over and the army had left in the early morning, everything seemed normal in the palace. But while everyone else went about his or her business, running to one task or another, Chibi Usa stood with her head and elbows resting against a stone merlon on the palace parapet, her eyes looking aimlessly across the vast distances. 

By now the sun was setting and the fading star shared its warm glow with the peaceful city. However none of its cheerfulness was getting through to the moping princess. Hotaru had tried to coaxes Chibi Usa out of her room earlier but the princess had stubbornly locked herself in. But despite her stubbornness she couldn't keep herself locked up all day, and finally when the air inside became too stifling, Chibi Usa slipped out for a breath of fresh air. But no matter how pleasant and cool the air was it could not completely heal the cut that the argument with Helios had caused. The wound wasn't devastating, but like a paper cut, it still ached with a dull persistence.

_Of all people, I thought he'd understand that I can stand on my own! I'm no longer a child; I don't need to be constantly coddled like this!_

Chibi Usa tightened her thin brows still further together. Below her the sunlight touched the armor of the palace guards marching into their positions and the glare shone into Chibi Usa's eyes. The flash of armor and steel reminded Chibi Usa of the kind of situation Helios was leading himself into, and some of her anger turned to worry and the change was visible in her frowning eyes.

For as long as she'd known him, Helios had always been a gentle person; kind and patient. It had been a shock when he came and stood up against Wise Man to save her from the hooded figure's clutches. For someone with a soft temperament and a slender build, he simply did not seem the sort of person one would expect to see in a fight. But fight he did, and although it almost cost him his life, from that time on she wondered if there was more to this boy she had fallen in love with.

For some reason as her mind came to this thought Chibi Usa felt a shiver and she tried to shrug off the uncomfortable feeling. But the feeling seemed to have latched onto her and she couldn't shake it off, and the more she tried to resist the thought, the more it worried her. Her mind recalled the dream she had again, of Helios disappearing into a cloud of rose petals and Chibi Usa felt a heavy sense of dread flow down her throat and settle at the bottom of her stomach.

When she was much younger, Sailor Mars used to tell her that dreams were important, for they not only reflected the hidden conscious of a person but held mystical powers as well. When she met Helios in his form as Pegasus, visited Elysian, and saw the power of dreams first hand she understood what Mars meant. But dreams besides being fanciful and mysterious also have their solemn and prophetic side. The dream she had a few nights before certainly seemed to fit the latter category, especially considering the Voice's words were accompanying it. This unsettling thought made Chibi Usa twist her lips in apprehension.

_What if that wasn't just a simple dream, what if it was trying to show me something, to prevent something from happening? Is the only thing I can do to stand here and watch and wait? _

She touched the broach that sat inside her shirt pocket. No, there has to be something she could do; something that Neo Sailor Moon could do. Chibi Usa knew what was in her mind the others will not immediately consent to, but she will have to convince them or go it alone.

* * *

The collective clacking of hooves and armor filled the air as the Rhodian army marched toward their destination. Having traveled for almost a full day, the army has long since left the city behind and was now venturing into the mountain range beyond the capital. The sun that had accompanied them was beginning to set and cast long crooked shadows of trees onto the hilly highway. 

Helios, flanked to the front and back by guards and other retainers, rode silently with Horatio at his left. Horatio watched Helios and moved closer to Helios's side, where he quietly asked, "Still thinking about the argument with the Earth princess?"

Helios shifted his eyes away and said nothing.

Horatio watched Helios for a moment but oddly, a smile formed on the captain's lips. He shook his head lightly. "You were never the kind of person to stay angry at someone."

Helios looked back at Horatio, still wearing the frown on his face. Horatio gazed down the road ahead and said, "But that princess, I get the feeling she's still probably upset about all this."

Helios sighed faintly. "Princess Small Lady…can be rather stubborn, especially in certain situations."

"Just like you?"

"…What makes you say that?" Helios pressed.

Horatio did nothing but smile, and Helios thought he wasn't going to answer him when the red haired young man responded, "Well, it's a long story." As he said this, Helios was surprised by the soft expression on his friend's face. "But you know, I think being stubborn and persistent…isn't always a bad thing."

The statement and the gentle look in the usually boisterous captain mystified Helios but before he had a chance to ask, a mounted soldier came down the line in their direction. The soldier halted his mount before the two young men and bowed his head respectfully to Helios and Horatio.

"Sire, a large group of peasants have appeared up the road. There is no way for both parties to pass at the same time because the path is too narrow."

"Peasants? From where?" Helios frowned.

"A band of refugees fleeing from the south. There are about 200 in all. Some of them have wagons and carts but most are on foot."

Helios's grip on the rein tightened as a swell of anger and pity welled up inside of him. He spoke firmly to the messenger, "Let them pass first. Tell the men to stop and make way for them."

The soldier acknowledged the message and raced away to spread the order given to him. As the soldier gallop off, Horatio pulled up beside Helios and said, "They're traveling in the right direction; the capital is probably the safest place to be right now."

Helios said nothing. The army's march came to a stop and the refugees were allowed to pass unobstructed. Helios watched silently as people both young and old trickled past him on the unpaved dirt road. There were elderly grandmothers, month-old babies carried in the arms of their anxious mothers, and weary looking men traveling with their family.

Many of them as they passed by glanced at Helios, their uncrowned boy-king. Each face was a reflection of sorrow, of pain, of fear. These were the faces of people driven from their homes and forced to flee with the little possession they have. Helios knew all of this, and he felt that each pair of eyes he met was imploring him, seeking salvation from the chaos and strife that had swallowed their once peaceful lives.

_But is there anything I could do for them?_

The indignation he'd felt earlier for these people dwindled as doubt began gnawing at him again. He kept on telling himself he must be strong, to justify the trust that so many people have placed on him. But that false confidence quickly deflates in the face of the reality facing him.

When he caught sight of a familiar shade of pink hair Helios gasped.

_Chibi Usa-chan!?_

It was a girl with pink hair tied up in ponytails on either side of her head, but it was not Chibi Usa. The girl and her mother were both startled by Helios' sharp reaction, and the girl's decidedly green eyes were quivering slightly from surprise and fright. The mother instinctively drew her child close as they looked timidly at the young king, not knowing what they had done and fearing the unknown consequences.

Seeing that he had clearly frightened them, Helios quickly apologized, "I'm sorry…" He felt like he should say something more to comfort the girl and her mother but no words formed in his mouth.

Tentatively, the mother nodded her head once and smiled weakly at him before tugging on her daughter's hand, and the two walked away. Helios watched them until they've melted back into the crowd of migrants. Still, the quivering eyes of the girl lingered in his mind.

The stream of refugees eventually passed and the army resumed its march. Helios became quiet again but his furrowed brows and thin lips spoke volumes about his thoughts. Horatio rode slightly behind Helios and the captain did not disturb the white-haired youth. He had a feeling that what was on his friend's mind this time wasn't something that could be alleviated with simple jokes and he left Helios to his thoughts, but kept watch over him dutifully from the back.

The sunlight behind the mountains began to fade as dusk approached. The shadows of the surrounding trees grew longer and darker. Once in a while the eerie call of a wild bird would echo through the woods and others of its kind called back in response, their sharp voices muffled by the thickness of the trees. The air began to grow chiller and the soldiers, now quite tired from the day long march, unconsciously huddled closer together as the presence of the forest grew around them.

Horatio looked at the setting sun, now half hidden behind a distant mountain side. He turned to Helios and said, "It'll be dark soon; I think we should camp for the night. When I looked at the map this morning I remember seeing a small clearing just over the next hill top. That should be a good place to rest for the night.

"Very well. Everyone's exhausted too, I think." Helios glanced back at his men and though many tried to look unaffected by the tiring march, their chest were no longer lifted proud and straight like when they'd left Elsinore, and the spears and banners the men held were beginning to droop. The truth was, Helios himself was feeling tired as well after a full day on horseback, but he couldn't very well show it in front of everyone so he kept his posture straight and his voice even.

Horatio nodded in acknowledgement, but as he was about to give out the order, another messenger came ridding their way.

"What is it this time?" Horatio wondered, and this time rode forward to meet the soldier. Helios watched Horatio speak to the messenger and after a moment Horatio turned back and said to him, "Just our luck, it seems we've ran into another road block. Some foreign-looking loony has decided to stand in the middle of the road up ahead and won't budge; I'll go take a look." Horatio said with a slightly tint of annoyance in his voice and clicked the reins of his horse.

To Horatio's surprise however, Helios also led his steed away from the line and followed him. "No, I'll come with you," the young king replied.

"If you want," Horatio said with his head turned and shrugged, "though I have a feeling it's probably just a stubborn traveler who'd gotten lost." With that both of them spurred their horses and galloped towards the front of the marching army.

* * *

"You want to _what_?!"

"Cere-Cere, not so loud!" Chibi Usa urged.

The Quartet plus Chibi Usa and Hotaru were gathered in the princess' room after she had asked them to come see her about something important. Jun-Jun and Cere-Cere were seated in the chairs beside the bed while Ves-Ves sat on the arm of Cere-Cere's chair and Palla-Palla stood beside her green haired sister. Hotaru stood slightly off to the side while Chibi Usa sat on the bed, holding a finger up in an effort to try and shush the pink haired Amazoness.

"You can't be seriously considering going after them?!" Cere-Cere tried to say this in a low voice but the high pitched astonishment hasn't left her speech.

Chibi Usa nodded resolutely. "I'm dead serious. I can't let Helios go into this by himself."

"But it's not like he's alone! Half this country's practically with him right now, not to mention he has that guy Horatio to watch him back!" Ves-Ves exclaimed. "If you ask me, there are _more _than enough people to keep him safe."

Chibi Usa scowled, but what Hotaru said next from her spot near the bed post did nothing to support her friend's objective. "Ves-Ves has a good point. I don't think the people of this country want this war, but that doesn't necessarily mean they want outside forces to interfere either. Helios is leading a military expedition. By forcing our presence on them it might affect their plans and tactics." Hotaru grimaced, "It's not be a wise choice to get involved, Chibi Usa-chan; it's too complicated and delicate a situation for us to interfere with."

"…Is that what you guys think too?" Chibi Usa looked solemnly at the Quartet.

"Hotaru has a point," Jun-Jun admitted and Cere-Cere and Ves-Ves nodded. Palla-Palla didn't nod but her thin shoulders hunched a bit and she gave the princess a grave look as if saying she felt sympathetic to her cause, but she didn't exactly disagree with her sisters either.

Seeing this, Chibi Usa's hands formed a fist around the silk bedding she sat on. She sat there silently, her head bowed. For a long time nobody said anything but there was an uncomfortable atmosphere in the room. Jun-Jun fidgeted in her chair and Cere-Cere and Ves-Ves exchanged worried glances.

Outside, Ophelia walked up to the door which had not been completely closed. Just as she was about to knock, her hand stopped inches from the door when she heard Chibi Usa speaking in a thick voice.

"You're right…everybody's right. But I can't just sit here!" Her hands tightened around the bed sheets. "Even with Horatio and the guards, everyone else will be depending on _him_ to protect them. There are rumors that the enemy is incredibly strong and posses some great unknown power; he can't take them on all by himself!" Chibi Usa's eyes winched.

She looked around the room at her friend, "I understand that you guys don't agree with me, this is my own decision after all, but I need to be there!" After a moment of silence, she said, "I only ask you that you don't try and stop me because I'm going; no matter what."

There was a moment of silence again. Ophelia, who had been listening motionlessly through it all, dropped her gaze and her face wore a torn expression.

Chibi Usa had just made the decision she wished she could make, but unlike the princess she had been assigned the task of protecting the palace. In all honestly there was really very little risk to Elsinore at the moment, for the city was heavily fortified and there were several generals left to defend the city in case of a surprise attack, not to mention the fact that the Macedonian army was on the opposite side of the island right now.

Compared to the safety of the palace, Ophelia was much more worried about Helios. When her father had told her that Helios was to lead the army, she felt as if someone had struck her in the stomach and left her stunned. She had seen too much of wars and battles in the past ten years of her life, and the very real possibility of Helios being hurt racked at her endlessly. But the decision had came so fast, that when the troops had set out this morning, she could only stand and watched from the side, without even a chance to have said a proper goodbye.

_Maybe if I leave Elsinore for a little while to see how Helios-sama is doing, just to wish him well, it would be all right… _

Her thoughts were rudely disrupted when the door she was standing in front opened and Hotaru who must have caught sight of her figure outside the door, shouted, "Who's there-!" But the demand was quickly followed by a softer exclamation of recognition when the black haired girl saw who it was by the door. "Ophelia-san! What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry. But…" she stammered. The thought that had been disrupted by Hotaru quickly pull itself together again. Some part of her was still holding out against the idea, but the overwhelming urge to follow someone important to her pushed the fateful words onto Ophelia's tongue as she said to Chibi Usa, "…may I come with you, Chibi Usa-sama?"

Everyone looked at Ophelia in shock. It even took Chibi Usa - who was set on her idea so doggedly - a few seconds before she could respond.

"Would you really be willing to, Ophelia?"

"Yes," Ophelia replied with a small nod. Her pale blue eyes still held the shadow of the anxiousness she felt for her king, but otherwise her expression was set.

Chibi Usa rose and walked up to Ophelia. Taking the other girl's hands, Chibi Usa beamed. "Thank you Ophelia!"

Behind them, Hotaru sighed. Her lips twisted disapprovingly but she said, "Since you are determined to go no matter what, I will come with you. In case anything should happen, I want to be there, both as a senshi and as a friend." Hotaru managed a wary smile at the princess, then added, "If your mother finds out about the decision we just made she'll throw a fit."

Chibi Usa smiled. "But she won't find out will she?"

"Let's hope not, because we're coming along too." Jun-Jun's voice joined in. Hotaru and Chibi Usa turned to look at the Quartet as they moved from where they were to the foot of the bed.

"But I thought-" Chibi Usa's voice trailed off when Cere-Cere spoke up on behave of herself and her sisters.

"Well, we don't agree that it's the safest thing to do in the universe, but let's not forget we're sailor senshi too." Cere-Cere looked to her siblings then back at the princess. "If we laid low on this one then where would our pride and dignity be?"

"And besides," Ves-Ves added, "We haven't seen any real action yet. There's no one to fight in Crystal Tokyo."

The other girls seemed to agree with this sentiment; even Cere-Cere did not argue with her red haired sibling on this one occasion.

Chibi Usa couldn't hold back a broad smile and nodded. "All right then! We'll set out as soon as possible. We can probably catch up with Helios if we Sailor Teleport."

The Quartet and Hotaru nodded. Ophelia hesitated for a moment before she too nodded.

* * *

At the front of the halted vanguard, Horatio pulled his horse to a stop. Behind him, Helios quickly pulled up. 

The sun was no longer visible above the trees and the dim shadows of evening masked the distant horizon of the road in shades of gray. Immediately in front of the two young men, the road laid empty except for the lonely outlines of a single person. In the gloom, they could see the man who stood calmly facing them wore a light colored turban on his head, and a great colorful robe was draped across his shoulders. It was harder to make out the features of his face because of his dark complexion, but Helios thought the man was smiling softly at them.

"Who are you, and why are you barring the way?" Horatio asked solemnly.

The man bowed deeply to them. "Please do not misunderstand sir, I bar no one's path," he replied in a placid voice.

"In that case then, please move aside. We are on an urgent mission," Helios said.

The man straightened his back and his dark eyes met Helios' amber colored one, his lips still curled in a slight smile. "I am afraid I cannot oblige in that request, Your Majesty."

The stranger's hand reached towards the empty road behind him and when his hands closed together the picture of the empty road quivered. The stranger gave a tug and like a magician unveiling a magic trick, the backdrop of a clear and unoccupied road fell away, to reveal a fully armed army; weapons drawn and gleaming in the fading light of day.

"Because you see, _they_ are the ones barring the road, not I."

* * *

A/N I'm so sorry! I had hoped this wasn't going to take me another eight months to write but instead it took _longer_ than that. weeps But really, my third year in college has been unrelenting and downright hellish at times, and there was barely anytime to really sit down and write without having to worry about school work. The chapter itself has been giving me problems as well, since I had a hard time making it flow. Still, at least it's summer now and I should – hopefully – have time to write this and my other fanfics. I'll also be starting on the 30Kisses challenge on the Live Journal community of that same name. The pairing will of course be Chibi Usa and Helios, but in an alternate reality universe that is partially based on the Parallel Moon short story found in the Materials Collection art book. I'm hoping the challenge will jump-start the fanwriter in me, and help me get back into the mood for working with this story after having worked on it so sparingly for the past months. 

P.S. Triopas is a real ancient Greek general who fought for the Rhodians during the battle against Macedonia around 305BC.

Citrine, Peridot, Pyrope, and Indicolite are all names of semi-precious gem stones in keeping with the Sailor Moon tradition.


	12. Tempestuous Darkness

**Act 10 "****Tempestuous Darkness****" **

Helios could hardly believe what he saw. But there was no time to be surprised, much less time to think. The Macedonian army let out a battle cry and swarmed around the stranger, who was none other than the Sarissa Captain Peridot.

The next thing Helios knew was Horatio's voice ringing beside his ear. "Protect His Majesty!" the captain screamed at the men behind him. The shocked soldiers snapped out of their stupor after hearing the captain's order, remembering the swords and spears by their side. But for many in the very front, it was already too late as the Macedonians used the element of surprise to their advantage.

Once the Rhodian army awoke from its stupor, it pushed back against the enemy and the two sides clashed like waved upon each other. Helios found himself pushed towards the back while men swarmed to his front. The sharp edge of swords scrapping against each other and the screams and cries of men fighting, bleeding, dying filled the young man's ears.

Helios felt his throat tighten and was at a lost about what to do. He was jostled this way and that, and no matter which direction he looked all he saw was the same; chaos, panic, and bloodshed.

"Helios!"

Helios barely registered his name amidst the clashing noises around him, but when he felt someone tightly grasp his arm he turned around sharply to see that the hand belonged to Horatio. The captain had his saber drawn and gave a quick glance behind him before he shouted, "You have to get out of here! Come on!"

Helios' gaze snapped to the soldiers fighting around him, and turned his wide eyes back to Horatio. "But what about them?!" Remembering the sword he wore, an object to his mind more ornamental than applicable, Helios gritted his teeth and finally shouted, "I can't just leave them! I-!"

But before he could speak any further, Horatio cut him short impatiently. "This is not the time to try and be a hero! If something happens to you then who do we have to fight for?!"

Those words came like a slap across the face for Helios. Distracted as he was, Helios didn't notice a Macedonian soldier slip through the Rhodian frontline and came charging straight at him, spear raised. By the time Helios saw the gleam of the spear tip it was already being aimed at him.

Suddenly, the Macedonian soldier's face contorted and he let out a short cry as the spear slipped out of his hand and fell to the ground beside him.

Horatio stood behind the dead soldier, his face harsh and dark in the fast approaching night. In the faint light Helios could make out a streak of black on Horatio's once pristine sword and watched as dark droplets fell from the tip of the blade.

"Come on!" Horatio repeated and Helios followed numbly as the image of that moment was burned into his mind.

* * *

Ophelia stood gazing at the evening sky, painted in strokes of red, orange, and pink. From the high grounds where the place stood the distance between her and the sky seem to have shrunk, and she could almost reach up and touch it. _I wonder where he is under this sky..._the young woman mused to herself. With a start, Ophelia came to when someone called her name and the lavender haired young woman turned to see Sailor Saturn standing behind her. Ophelia herself had changed into her Sailor Somnus form as she and the group of Solar System senshi stood in the courtyard in the center of the palace garden.

"Everyone's ready now, we're getting ready to teleport," Saturn said to Somnus.

Sailor Somnus nodded and went to join the five other senshi who have already positioned themselves in the form of a circle. "What were you looking at Ophelia-sama?" Sailor Pallas asked inquisitively.

Somnus shook her head, causing the slender bangs of her hair to sway as she moved. "Nothing...Now, how shall we do this?" the last was directed at Neo Sailor Moon.

"The six of us will combine our powers and that will transport us to where Helios is. As long as we keep our minds focused everything should go smoothly." Neo Moon explained, her eagerness shinning through her eyes and the upbeat tone of her voice.

Sailor Vesta on the other hand, wasn't so thrilled, and the red haired senshi twisted her lips uncomfortably. "But this is the first time we've ever done this. Are you sure that's all we need to do? What if we end up in the wrong place?"

"Oh come on, Vesta," Sailor Juno chirped in cheekily, "Don't tell me you're feeling chicken!"

Vesta blushed and gave her sister a foul look, "Of course not!" she said with sudden confidence, "Let's hurry up; we're not getting anywhere just by standing here!"

The girls giggled, and as the others laughed Neo Moon wondered to herself, not for the last time, where and what Helios was doing at that very moment. It felt terrible to be away from him after being reunited again. Now that she was going to find him a sudden feeling of foreboding clashed against the excitement she had been feeling earlier. Mentally shaking her head, the princess dismissed the wary feeling. After all, it was not uncommon to get the proverbial butterflies in one's stomach before an important undertaking and she believed this was one of those times.

Taking in a deep breath, she said to her friends and fellow soldiers, "Alright then, let's go!" Neo Moon surveyed her team and Sailor Somnus, who stood in the center of their circle. Everyone nodded back to show their readiness. The Quartet, Sailor Saturn and Neo Moon herself joined hands, and along with Sailor Somnus, closed their eyes.

Soon the space around them began to glow. Shades of pink, violet, red, yellow, green, and blue shimmered like waves of heat in the air. The girls' hair and their skirts fluttered as the energy they radiated sent a small whirlwind of air spinning upwards like a tornado. The wind swept through the rose bushes, dislodging loose petals, adding specks of flickering blue to the spiraling gusts.

In one clear uniform voice, the Solar System senshi cried, "Sailor Teleport!" and vanished from the garden grounds, leaving falling blue rose petals framed against the airbrushed sky.

* * *

Horatio led Helios through the mob of men and horses, but their progress was slowed by the fighting ensuing around them and by skirmishes between Horatio and enemy soldiers who'd managed to approach them.

As they finally pushed their way to the forest edge a soldier, from one camp or another, suddenly darted in front of Helios' horse, causing the animal to rear up and neigh loudly.

"Ugh!" Helios' grip on the reins slipped but he managed to grasp the horse's mane and prevented himself from being thrown off.

"What happened-?!" Horatio looked back when he heard the horse neigh but what he saw was a huge figure looming behind Helios.

Horatio kicked his horse into a gallop and sparks flew as his saber met the back of one of Pyrope's twin blades. Horatio's arms felt as if it was going to buckle under the tremendous pressure pressed against his weapon. With all his might, he pushed off the general's weapon and momentarily disengaged him. But Pyrope came at him relentlessly as their swords clashed once again; the two men's horses jostling against each other as their riders fought.

"Horatio!" Helios cried.

Horatio said nothing as he steadfastly placed himself between his king and the enemy. But no matter how strong his resolve was, the enemy was stronger and more powerful. Horatio could feel himself tiring after just a few exchanges, and his waning energy gave Pyrope an opening as the silent but menacing Macedonian general made a trust towards Horatio that slashed across the captain's left arm.

Crimson blood seeped from the wound and dripped onto the dry earth below. A grunt of pain escaped through Horatio's clinched teeth. He was breathing heavily but refused to lower his weapon a fraction.

"Horatio...!" The sight of Horatio's blood, shed in order to protect him, came like a physical blow to Helios. People were dying around him and his friend was now injured because of him. The wretched feeling of standing by but being able to do nothing clawed at his conscious and Helios' hand reached for the sword by his side.

But once again Horatio stopped him. The captain whispered quickly while his eyes remained fixed on Pyrope. "I'll hold him off. Go into the forest, you'll be safer there."

"No!" Helios screamed and startled the wounded captain.

Without looking away from his adversary, Horatio spoke quietly but sternly, "Helios, listen to me, this isn't about being a coward!" the captain afforded a glance at the distraught young ruler. "If we loose you who will lead the country? You are the hope that everyone has rallied around. If you're gone any sort of congruity we have will fall apart!"

Helios looked at Horatio, still unwilling to leave his friend behind. "I'll be fine," the captain said quietly, "Remember, you are our king and our hope. As long as you're alive there is hope that we can rebuild our country and return it to the way it was."

_Hope..._

The word seemed foreign at that moment, at that place. He was hope? But what use was a hope that could not act? Who could not lead or fight? _A weak, pathetic hope_, his heart answered. The only option he had was to do as Horatio said because that was the only thing a frail beacon of hope _could_ do: be protected and sheltered while others suffered and put themselves at risk for his sake.

The hand Helios had around the sword hilt tightened until his knuckles turned white. Gritting his teeth, Helios forced himself to pull away, unaware that tears were streaming down his cheeks.

Horatio listened as the galloping sound of Helios' horse became lost in the mishmash of other noises and returned his full attention to his opponent.

Pyrope, meanwhile, had made no move to engage Horatio during the captain's brief exchange with Helios. It was impossible to tell through the man's hard visage what he had in mind, but Horatio's stoic behavior seemed to have impressed the general enough to allow the captain time to speak those words to his liege.

Once Helios was gone, Pyrope spoke, surprising Horatio. "You are a brave warrior, young man. But my mission is to bring your king to my lord, and I will not let you stand in the way of that," he said in his deep voice.

Horatio smirked darkly as the area around his wound got soaked darker and darker in blood. "So that's what you came for huh? Well, my job just happens to be not letting you people lay a finger on him!" With a cry, Horatio charged at Pyrope, who smiled faintly as he met the captain's charge.

* * *

Slender branches in a darkening forest rustled as seven senshi appeared in the middle of a tiny clearing. The girls opened their eyes, blinking at the dim forest around them as they let go of each other's hand.

Neo Moon's thin brows furrowed. She hadn't expected they would end up in a forest, much less one that was so ominous looking. But what worried her the most was that Helios was nowhere to be seen.

"Pallas doesn't see anyone," the blue haired Quartet said in a hushed whisper, fearing her voice might waken some unseen ghost haunting the woods.

"Are you sure we didn't mess up somehow?" Sailor Vesta looked to Neo Moon, the apprehension from earlier was audible again in her voice.

Before Neo Moon could answer though, Juno raised a finger to her lips and hushed her teammates "Ssh! Do you guys hear that?" she asked quietly, her green eyes focused keenly towards the west.

The others listened and indeed, beyond the dark tree tops towards the hills they could make out distant mingled cries and clashes of metal.

"What's going on? What is that terrible noise?" Sailor Ceres cringed.

Saturn's violet eyes narrowed and her body shifted uneasily, "It seems like there's a battle going on."

Neo Moon met Sailor Somus' eyes and both knew what this meant.

A terrible sinking feeling landed in Sailor Somnus' stomach and without another thought she dashed in the direction of the noise. Neo Moon followed immediately behind her while the others went too in their leader's wake.

The dimming forest passed as a blur as the senshi raced towards the source of the sound, which grew louder with every step they took. Hands clutched anxiously, Neo Moon could only wish it wasn't what Saturn suspected, and that she will find Helios as soon as possible. Then suddenly Sailor Somnus came to an abrupt stop and the girls behind her heard the lilac haired senshi gasp aloud.

When they reached her side they saw the body of a dead soldier laying face down in the forest floor before them, a spear protruding from his back. Ceres covered her mouth and a gagging sound emerged involuntarily from her throat. Pallas slinked back and threw a frightened glance at Vesta and Juno whose expressions were taunt at the gruesome sight.

Saturn grimaced. She quietly walked to Neo Moon's side and saw the grave worry etched in the princess' face. "We have to find him," Sailor Somnus murmured, her face was pale as she looked at the corpse. "This man is wearing the uniform of the Imperial Guard. It must mean Helios-sama and Horatio are in trouble."

Neo Moon closed her eyes tightly. Her heart palpitating, the moon senshi knew Sailor Somnus was right: they must find him! Opening her eyes and taking a deep breath, Neo Moon said briskly to the group, "Come on, let's hurry!" and dashed off toward the battle.

_Please let him be okay! Please!_ She whispered desperately in her mind. But dark thoughts loomed in her mind. What if he'd been hurt? Or worse? The feeling of dread intensified and was quickly boiling to become panic. The only way Neo Moon could suppress that emotion was by making herself run faster.

After running for a few minutes the dense vegetation of the forest began to thin and Neo Moon could suddenly make out the silhouettes of figures moving just beyond the trees. By now there was no denying that a battle had broken out. Discarded weapons, stray banners, and the now earsplitting noise of men as they fought were all signs that they were getting closer and closer to the midst of the action.

Suddenly a man emerged from the shadow of a tree and charged at Sailor Juno. Reacting quickly, Juno delivered a flying kick to the man's chest and knocked him on his back. But almost immediately four other men drifted out from the shadows, surrounding the senshi. Neo Moon frowned. These men were definitely from the enemy's side. The outfits they wore were different from what she'd seen on the dead soldier; uniforms of gray instead of blue, and each held a long spear in their hands rather than the standard-issue sword Rhodian soldiers used.

One of the men made a lung at Neo Moon with his spear, but his weapon was quickly disarmed when Saturn took one swift swing of her glaive and sliced it in half. The man cried out his surprise and his comrades gasped. That gave Ceres the split second she needed to summon her attack.

"Razor Blooms!"

A hale of sharp petals rained down on the men, forcing them to run from the hail of sharp blades.

Their path cleared, the girls continued to advance, having to beat back enemy soldiers with their power. During all this, Neo Moon remained on the lookout for the white haired youth. But it was nearly impossible to focus on any one thing as they were forced to run and defend themselves all at the same time.

The trees continued to grow thinner as the senshi moved forward to the center of the battle. Finally Neo Moon caught a flash of white in the distance.

"Helios! Helios!!" Neo Moon cried, but her voice was lost amongst the din of the ragging battle. The princess ran towards Helios who was coming in her direction. Sailor Somnus had heard Neo Moon's cries, and seeing her liege on the horizon, began making her way towards him as well.

A soldier charged at Neo Moon. Fighting the man one-on-one would only delay her, so the princess pulled out her scepter. A bright flash of light from the crystal on the scepter flooded the man and when the light vanished, he was lying in a stupor, having been overcome by the rush of energy. Neo Moon jumped over the unconscious soldier, dodging branches and made her way between the trees. Sailor Somnus behind her was intercepted by three men at once. Like Neo Moon she wasted no time and as the words of "Sapphire Mist Lullaby!" fell from her lips so did the soldiers who all collapsed in a drowsy pile.

"Helios!" At this distance Neo Moon could see his face, and the sound of his name brought his gaze to her.

A look of disbelief washed across Helios' features when he saw the Earth princess and the transformed Ophelia in the midst of battle. What are they doing here?! His mind screamed. But that question mattered little to Helios at that precise moment. After the initial shock had passed the only thought his mind seemed capable of maintaining was to reach their side. Helios pulled hard on the reins of his steed and the animal, edgy from the cacophony of noise and movements around it, whined loudly before following its rider's instructions and dashed off towards the senshi.

* * *

Demetrius watched the battle from a hill top with a mildly detached mien. His observation seemed casual, but from the intense gaze of his pale blue eyes one could tell he was keeping track of each and every move both sides were making. Thus far everything was going well, as the slight upward curve on his lips would indicate.

Behind him only one of the five captains remained. The wiry young man, Indicolite, glanced nervously at his master from behind his glasses. He carried a bag with its strap slung across his shoulders. His eyes shifted restlessly over the hillock below him, in a striking contrast to the young ruler.

Demetrius's bemused expression was given pause when he spotted a dot of white move in his field of vision.

"Indicolite, hand me the telescope." Demetrius reached out his hand and Indicolite fumbled a bit before he found the instrument in his bag. Demetrius pulled out the compacted telescope and looked through it to find what he was looking for. After a few seconds of searching the object he had seen before came into view. In the sight of the scope was Helios, his body appearing and disappearing beneath the canopy of trees.

A smile now appeared on Demetrius' face and he followed Helios' figure through the forest using the scope. But then something else caught his eyes. Demetrius saw two female figures, both of them unknown to him, rushing towards the Rhodian ruler. Even in the fading daylight he could see that them had a matching expression of concern, anxiety, and determination. Demetrius looked up from the instrument and pondered for a minute before studying the scene through the scope again. Watching them closely he realized Helios was also racing in their direction, and upon closer inspection Demetrius noted the disconcerted expression of his Rhodian counterpart.

"Indicolite," Demetrius called without looking away.

"Yes sir?" Indicolite answered, his spine straightening when he heard his master's voice directed at him.

"There will be a change of plans." At this Demetrius lowered the telescope and smiled in satisfaction.

* * *

Helios weaved laboriously through the chaos around him. His eyes squinted to see the two senshi, trying to keep them in sight as he made his way across the uneven terrain towards them. Neo Sailor Moon and Sailor Somnus too, were making their way towards him but Macedonian soldiers repeatedly interrupted their advance and the girls had to fight them off either with their power or through combat. But despite the madness around them the two groups steadily made their way towards each other until they were only about three dozen yards apart.

"Helios!" Neo Moon cried, trying to guide him to her in the final distance that separated them.

Not far behind her, Sailor Somnus fought off another Macedonian soldier who tried to attack her. But as Sailor Somnus stepped forward to close the remaining gap a sharp stinging sensation shot through her spine and her body went ridged then limp. Hearing Sailor Somnus' scream, Neo Moon twisted around to see the lilac haired senshi collapse to the ground. Just as she was about to go to her friend's side she felt a chill against her neck and turned her face around enough to see a metallic face looking back at her before she too slipped unconscious from a shock to the back.

From his vantage point Helios saw two blurred shapes suddenly dash toward the girls and watched as each of them were rendered unconscious. His eyes widened as the blurred shapes revealed themselves to be metallic mannequin-like figures that proceeded to pick up the girls.

"Chibi Usa-chan! Ophelia!" The burst of panic and fear made Helios feel as if his heart was about to explode. Leaping off his horse, Helios dashed toward the senshi as they were picked up by the metallic figures.

Suddenly his body erupted in a wash of pain and his knees buckled. Behind him stood a third android, with a cracking electrode protruding from its forearm, gazing expressionlessly at him. Helios tired desperately to stand back up but he couldn't feel his limbs and laid there, immobilized. His mind too was shutting down rapidly from the incapacitating shock the mysterious figure had delivered, and with the last bit of consciousness he could maintain he watched as Neo Moon and Sailor Somnus were carried off in another blur of motion before his vision faded into darkness.

* * *

A/N I realize it has been more than a year since I last updated this story, and I offer my sincere apology to all those who've waited so long as well as my deepest appreciation for your patience. This was my last year as an undergraduate so I had to spend a lot of time on school related matters. I'll be going to graduate school next year for my Ph.D, and looking back to when I first started writing this series of BSSM fanfiction in high school I realized how far I've come. Thanks to those who've supported me and my writing during this time, and know that while I might be busy, I vow to finish this story and the one after it.

This chapter is quite a bit more violent than my previous writing or the anime itself. The reason for it is because I wanted to show just how bad of a situation the characters are in and it brings in a degree more of realism than typical shoujo fare. Please leave a review and tell me what you think.


	13. To Enter the Lion's Den

**Act 11 "To Enter the Lion's Den"**

The first thing Helios could consciously feel was a painful burning sensation on the back of his neck where he had been stung. He winced as his eyes fluttered open. A voice registered in him ears but it took him a few seconds more before he could identify the speaker.

"Helios? Helios, are you alright?" It was Horatio's familiar voice. Helios could make out the blurred outlines of Horatio's figure against the dim interior of a room. Slowly, he pushed himself up from the bed he had been laying on so that he could sit upright.

"I'm fine," he said weakly, his mind beginning to get its bearings. With the return of his sense of coordination so did the last memories he had before falling unconscious.

"Chibi Usa-chan…Ophelia…where are they?" he asked hoarsely. "They were unconscious and I saw them being taken away. Where are they right now?"

Horatio's hand came out and supported Helios who had not fully recovered. "They were taken away by Demetrius' forces. We don't know what condition they're in but we're certain they're being held in the Macedonian's camp."

Helios listened and waited for his mind to clear. But the knowledge and emotions surrounding the girls' abduction were barely kept at bay. The hellish images of the battle, the stab of guilt and powerlessness; Helios knew if he let any one of those feelings loose he would not be able to maintain his composure.

Cognizant once again, Helios looked to Horatio. The red haired young man wasn't wearing his uniform and was dressed in a white shirt and dark pants. The sleeve on his left arm was rolled up to the elbow and a large patch of gauze and bandages covered his forearm. Despite his injury Horatio still wore his weapon by his side, mindful of his duty as Helios' protector and ready for any situation that might arise.

The sight of Horatio's injured arm made Helios' chest ache. The immense feeling of guilt he had been trying to hold back was breaking through to show on his face. Horatio saw the change in Helios' mien and said brightly in an effort to put him at ease, "I had the doctor look at my arm and he said the wound wasn't very deep, just long. It looks uglier than it actually is."

Helios lowered his eyes but his expression didn't change. Horatio switched subject in an effort to distract him and said, "Not long after you left the Macedonian army suddenly retreated. I thought something had happened to you since the man I was fighting said their main objective was to capture you." At this Helios's gaze shifted and looked up into Horatio's violet eyes in surprise. Horatio went on, his mind drifting back to the scene of the battle with Pyrope.

By then the two men had already exchanged blows many dozen times. Sweat was dropping from Horatio's brows as he tried to maintain his position but his stamina was failing due to the strain of combat and the throbbing pain from his arm. Pyrope on the other hand didn't even look short of breath. Inside Horatio was impressed by the man's abilities and Pyrope too, thought well of Horatio for his tenacity and skill despite his young age. But right at that moment no matter what they thought of each other they were enemies with opposing objectives. Despite the encroaching darkness and Horatio's injury the two men clashed again, their weapons screeching against each other before breaking apart. One swung his weapon to be dodged by the other; trusts and parries kept the beat of their deadly dance.

Suddenly from afar the low rumbling sound of a horn sounded. Pyrope broke away from Horatio and looked up at the direction from which the call originated. Horatio couldn't make out the general's expression in the gloom and without a word Pyrope kicked his horse into a galloped and raced away. "Hey!" Horatio shouted indignantly, that his opponent had suddenly retreat. As he looked around him he notice the Macedonian army itself was making a retreat so that as quickly as they had appeared the Macedonians soon disappeared into the night. Baffled by their sudden withdrawal Horatio remembered what Pyrope had said about the goal of his mission and his heart sank into his stomach.

"Helios…Helios!" The Captain cried, reining his horse around and raced off in the direction he believed Helios had gone off to. By now the darkness of night was completely upon them and torches were lit to push it away. With the forest illuminated by patchy dots of light, Horatio searched desperately for his liege. "Helios! Helios!" Horatio continued to shout, waiting anxiously for a response. Then faintly he heard the sound of his name being hailed as a torch signaled to him from not too far away. Horatio turned and after weaving through some bushes found two soldiers kneeling beside an unconscious white figure lying on the grass. Horatio leapt off his horse and rushed to Helios' side and lifted up the pale young man's shoulders in his good right arm. After checking his pulse Horatio was relieved to find that Helios was alive and breathing and there weren't any obvious wounds on his person. Turing to the soldiers who had called out to him, he inquired, "Did you two saw what had happened to His Majesty?"

One of the soldiers shook his head while the other hesitated and said, "I didn't see what happened exactly but as I was running past those trees over there," he motioned with his hand to a clump of trees somewhere in the night, "I saw His Majesty fall to the ground. I tried to rush over and on my way I saw two people being carried off by two gray figures. I couldn't tell who the people being taken away were; I only noticed that one had pink hair and the other had light colored hair."

The soldier's description puzzled Horatio at first. But the answer to his questions were answered when much to his surprise, Saturn appeared from the forest. "Captain Horatio!" Saturn shouted. When she saw the unconscious Helios her attention immediately shifted to him. "Is Helios-kun alright? Has he been injured?"

Horatio shook his head. "As far as I can tell he's only unconscious, though we still need to find a doctor to make sure there aren't any injuries we don't know about. But what are you doing here? I thought you were in Elsinore."

"I came with Chibi Usa-chan. Have you seen her?" Saturn asked urgently, that having being the foremost thing on her mind before she saw Helios.

Just as her question ended, the Sailor Quartet hurried out of the forest in quick succession. "Oh there you are! We got separated from you in that mess!" Ceres exclaimed at the front of the group, but when she saw no sign of Sailor Neo Moon the pink haired Amazoness looked to Saturn, "Where's the princess, isn't she with you?"

Before Saturn could reply Horatio cut in incredulously, "Wait a minute, _all _of you came?"

Juno nodded affirmatively. "Ophelia-san came too. But we got separated from them and Saturn during the battle."

Suddenly what the soldier had told him before came back with an unsettling revelation in Horatio's mind, "Does that mean…oh no" he whispered.

Seeing his reaction, Saturn pressed him, "What is it? Do you know where they are?"

Horatio looked down at the unconscious Helios in his arm. In the yellow light the torch provided he saw the pained expression on Helios face and could guess what had caused him to feel such anguish. His grip tightened on his friend's shoulder as he looked back at the group of worried senshi. "I think they've got them…"

Horatio ended his narrative to Helios with the closing of that length of memory. Helios remained silent through the entire account but his hands on the bed sheet had tightened into fists.

At long last Horatio asked softly, "What do you plan to do next?"

Helios grimaced. "Where are we right now?" he asked huskily.

"A small village about an hour from where the battle took place. Some of the villagers here have not left yet, including the local doctor, so we've set up camp here for the time being."

"What is the situation with our forces? How many men do we have left and what about the supplies? Also, what information do we have on the enemy's status right now?"

Horatio dutifully recited to Helios the status of the army. The surprise attack by the Macedonian army had taken out a third of their men and nearly half the supplies were lost. The village they were staying in right now had enough food to last the village folks about a week, but with the extra people of the army here as well all told it was not going to last very long. As for the Macedonians, they were camped out near a hill top about three quarters of a mile from the Rhodian encampment, and from the number of tents and the size of the fortification their numbers were at least double the number the Rhodians had at the moment.

While Horatio gave his report Helios began to take in his surroundings. His armor had been removed and set on a pedestal near the end of the bed. Looking up, Helios realized he had been lying inside an unadorned large octagonal-shaped canvas tent with small, unlit lamps hanging from the beams that held up the structure. The entrance was across from his bed, slightly to the left, and from the bright light that seeped in from beyond the flap and the warmth of the air Helios knew it was at least midday outside. It also meant he had been unconscious for more than half a day, and that Chibi Usa and Ophelia had been in the enemy's hand for just as long a time.

Helios closed his eyes hard at the thought and opened them again when Horatio finished his preliminary report.

"Where are the other senshi?"

"Hotaru is helping with tending the wounded since there's a shortage of doctors. Have to say, she really surprised me when she told me she had been trained as a nurse." Horatio smiled, the first time he had done so since the madness of yester evening. "The Quartet girls are doing alright, though they're pretty upset about loosing their princess."

Helios rose from the bed, gently brushing away the arm Horatio lent him for support. Standing again, Helios turned to his friend. "I need to see them."

* * *

Hotaru stood up from the injured soldier she'd been helping to bandage. She had put all of her nursing know-how into practice but due to the varying degree of injuries sustained by the soldiers there was a limit to what she could do for them. This man was relatively lucky as he only had minor lacerations and a fractured leg. Others suffered much worse and the sound of painful moans and the shuffling of injured men from the improvised infirmary ward created a depressing backdrop in the once quaint and peaceful hillside village.

Even with her healing power Hotaru knew she couldn't heal everyone, and there had been lives she could not save simply because the wounds were too grievous. The dark haired girl sighed softly as she looked with a frown at the crestfallen Rhodian army. The currently situation didn't look good but Hotaru was also worried about another group of soldiers, four who were much personally connected to her than the men she had been tending.

Walking to the edge of the village where a large tree stood, Hotaru found the Quartet sulking by the base of the tree. Jun-Jun had perched herself high up on one of the branches, her arms folded as she brooded. Cere-Cere stood with her hands behind her back as she leaned against the tree trunk, her usual spunky magenta eyes downcast. Ves-Ves and Palla-Palla sat next to each other; the former had her arms around her knees, her eyes angry, while the latter by comparison looked lost and worried by her sister's side.

"Cere-Cere, Ves-Ves, Palla-Palla, Jun-Jun," Hotaru called as she approached the girls. The Quartet looked up when they heard their names but their eyes soon turned languidly back to the spot in space they had been staring at before.

Hotaru wanted to say something to the girls but Ves-Ves spoke first. "We should've stuck closer to her; then we wouldn't have lost her," she said, her eyebrows knitted in a scowl.

"We all got separated in the middle of that battle. You shouldn't blame just yourselves. I am partly to blame as well," Hotaru said gently.

The Quartet didn't respond and the sullen atmosphere remained like a thick cloud blanketing over the girls.

Jun-Jun was the first to hear footsteps approaching in their direction and turned around in her perch to see who it was. The rest of the girls, including Hotaru, followed and saw Helios with Horatio behind him walking towards them.

"Helios-kun," Hotaru walked up to meet him, "Are you feeling well? You had been unconscious since last night, and nobody was sure when you would wake up."

Helios nodded and made a weary smile at the violet-eyed young woman. "I'm fine now. Thank you, Hotaru. And thank you for taking care of the wounded. We are deeply indebted to you for that."

Hotaru smiled back ruefully. "There's no need to thank me; I only want to do what I can to help."

With another wane smile, Helios acknowledged Hotaru's sincerity. Horatio spoke up for the first time and addressed the girls in general, "We were wondering if you can tell us anything about the enemy that you might've noticed on your way. If we all put our heads together we might find something to use in our advantage."

Hotaru shook her head. "I didn't see much of the enemy at all, save for some soldiers who tried to attack us. And I didn't notice anything special about them either; they all seemed like regular humans to me." She looked at the Quartet for their input.

Jun-Jun jumped off the branch she had been sitting on and joined her sisters' ranks, but none of them had seen anything new to offer.

Helios sighed, disappointed. Hotaru thought for a moment before she asked him, "Helios, you were the last person to see them. Did you see or notice anything peculiar?"

Helios paused as he tried to replay those few seconds of memory in his mind. He had been surprised when he saw Chibi Usa and Ophelia and shocked when they fell unconscious in front of him. But the memories in between those two moments were fuzzy. Focusing hard, he remembered seeing one-no, two-flashes of metallic blur. At this Helios blinked. _Those metallic figures, they had been taken away by them, but what were they?_ Turning his gaze to Hotaru, Helios replied, "When I saw Chibi Usa-chan and Ophelia fall I remember seeing two metallic figures behind them. They were humanoid shaped, but other than that I don't remember much else."

"Humanoid metallic figures?" Hotaru frowned. She recalled the mirror copies the reawakened Nehelenia had sent after her when she was still a baby, but though they were humanoid they were made of glass. _What sort of creature could they be? But if they're metallic then maybe…_ "Do you mean…like an android?" she wondered.

"I'm not sure, but it is possible," Helios grimaced.

"Wait a minute," Horatio suddenly interrupted. With a perplexed expression, he looked questioningly at Hotaru and Helios, "What are you talking about? What's an android? I have never heard of such a thing before."

Hotaru was surprised by his question and explained, "An android is a humanoid robot, a machine really, that can operate on its own with artificial intelligence or through a set of commands from an operator."

Horatio made an even more confused, almost comically so, expression. "A human-like machine…that operates on its own…or through an operator…Uh, that still doesn't quite make sense," he said, scratching the back of his head.

Hotaru was beginning to look equally confused by Horatio's lack of understanding when Helios stepped in and clarified, "Rhodes, and Somnus as a whole, is not as technological advanced as Earth. Magic rather than science is a more present influence here."

"I see…" Hotaru muttered, "But if that's the case then why does Macedonia have technology so advanced that it's unheard of on this planet?"

"The greater problem is what can we do against an enemy that is far superior to us in terms of technology?" said Helios. "From previous accounts of Macedonian firepower, their tools and weapons are highly varied. That is why I did not rule out the possibility of the enemy's use of advance robotics despite the lack of highly developed technology on this planet. The trick used by the man we met on the road, the strange explosives used against Triopas, the skilled and brutally strong general Horatio faced; the enemy has many cards up his sleeve. We also have vague reports about five men called the Sarissa Captains: the top five generals under Demetrius' direct command. What we have seen so far may very well be the doing of those five people."

"That makes a lot of sense," Horatio agreed. "It would also explain the vague reports we've been getting about them. Demetrius certainly doesn't want his military secrets to leak out."

"It also makes it very hard for anyone to beat him," Hotaru added thoughtfully. "With so many different approaches available to him, and not to mention how esoteric some of they are, his opportunities are broad while ours is limited. We are put at a clear disadvantage because of it."

"But that doesn't mean we can't try!" Ves-Ves' angry voice suddenly shook the others from their thoughts. "Even if they throw everything they've got at us we still have to get the Princess and Ophelia-san back!"

"Ves-Ves!" Cere-Cere grabbed her sister's wrist and tried to mollify her, "Nobody said we weren't! But we have to know what we're up against and not jump in blindly again."

Ves-Ves looked away sharply in frustration. Beside her, Jun-Jun said softly, "Cere-Cere has a point. But I also agree that we have to go find her." She looked at Hotaru and after a moment's hesitation, at Helios. "It's not just because we're her guardian senshi and it's our job to protect her, but also because she's our friend. She trusted us, trusted that we've changed. For that alone we can't let her down."

Palla-Palla nodded, "And it's not just Small Lady-sama either, but Ophelia-sama as well. She was really kind to Palla-Palla and her sisters, always smiling and being nice to us."

Helios stared at the Quartet, absorbing what they had said. Then suddenly the loud voice of a herald disturbed the silence surrounding their group.

A soldier ran to Helios, panting, saluted and produced a thin roll of paper in his hand. "We just received this letter from a carrier dove. It's addressed to you, Sire." Helios picked up the tiny scrolled message which had been rolled up so it could be inserted into the carrier tube strapped to the bird's leg. There was a piece of fine black thread tied around the letter and Helios saw that his name was indeed written on the outside of the letter. Carefully he untied the string and his eyes narrowed when he saw that it was a letter from Demetrius. Hotaru, the Quartet, and Horatio have crowded around Helios, who slowly read the letter aloud.

"To Helios of Rhodes,

It has been two days since my last letter reached you. After recent events I wonder if you have come to a decision about the matter I proposed to you previously. If not, I think now would be a good time to consider an answer."

"Bastard, he'd planned this all along then, ever since that first letter!" Horatio cursed silently.

Helios resumed reading, "But perhaps the previous conditions for our meeting were not attractive enough, and that is the reason for your reluctance. I have recently had the honor of inviting two young ladies who will serve as witnesses to our meeting. Perhaps this extra incentive will induce you to consider my offer. The ladies themselves are quite eager to meet you too I might add, and I'm sure they would be gravely disappointed if you do not come.

Should you decide to accept the proposal I will be waiting for you at my camp tomorrow morning. I hope to meet you face to face soon.

Sincerely, Demetrius"

By the end of the letter Horatio could not conceal his disgust with the writer of the letter. Gritting his teeth, Horatio spat, "I knew he was an arrogant bastard when he sent that first letter, but now he's actually using the girls to threaten you!"

"What is this first letter you're talking about?" Hotaru asked Horatio, her voice concerned and solemn.

"That megalomaniac prince sent Helios a letter exactly two days ago," Horatio answered, "He threatened to scourge the country unless Helios agreed to meet and fight him in a one-on-one duel."

"He did all this damage and now wants to settle everything with just one fight? Is this guy serious?" Jun-Jun wondered.

"Apparently he is since he kidnapped the Princess and Ophelia to use as leverage. If you ask me it's because he's either crazy or he's got an ego the size of a black hole," Ves-Ves quipped crossly while Cere-Cere and Palla-Palla nodded emphatically in agreement with their sister's opinion.

Helios didn't seem to have heard any of the chatter. He looked long at the letter before rolling it back to its cylindrical form. "Horatio, please make the necessary preparations. I will go and meet him tomorrow just as he had asked," he said as he pressed the letter into Horatio's hands.

Everyone was stunned into silence for a moment. Horatio's eyes opened wide in disbelief, "You can't be serious! The invitation must be a trap of some sort! Do you really think he's going to fight you fair and square after investing all of his resources to invade us?!" Horatio winced as a spasm of pain from his arm interrupted him. "You can't go Helios; we'll figure out some other way to get the Princess and Ophelia back, but walking in there alone is not the way!"

Helios met his friend's eyes evenly and said calmly, "Demetrius' goal is me and me alone. From the methods he has used so far he's been trying to press me into coming to see him. If his goal was simply to kill me he could have easily done so during the battle, but you told me yourself that his goal was to capture me. For whatever reason he abandoned the simple capture plan and decided to pursue the course he had previously offered me.

I think the simple capture plan might've been a last resort, seeing that I did not respond to him. But when he saw he could use the girls as bargaining chips he went back to his original plan. That shows me coming to see him on my own must mean something special to him. Demetrius is brilliant, despite our personal opinion of him, and he wouldn't waste that much resource for something that could be achieved through a more direct method. That's why I do not believe this meeting is a trap."

At this Helios paused before he continued to say "As for the girls…even if they were safe right now I would still go." Images of the refugees he had seen the day before passed through Helios' mind and he continued in a determined voice, "You said I was the hope of this country, Horatio. Hope exists to lift people from misery and darkness. Demetrius threatens to raze this country if I do not go. As the people's hope if I refuse I will be throwing their future and their lives away. If I go to meet him at least we will have a chance at a quick resolution." Helios paused, his eyes heavy with thought. "I admit there is a likelihood that Demetrius will not keep his word and I know my abilities are limited in a fight such as the one he proposed, but I have to at least try."

Horatio said nothing as he shifted his gaze away, his face showing his uncertainty. The Amazoness girls looked to each other and a silent agreement passed between them. "We're going too," Jun-Jun said, "There's no way we're going to miss out on an opportunity to get Chibi Usa back."

Hotaru stepped forward. "I will go with you as well," she said resolutely to Helios. "The five of us can help back you up if there is trouble."

With the others now offering him their support, Helios nodded firmly.

* * *

Ophelia opened her eyes groggily. She was laying on something soft and warm but the smell around her was foreign and stuffy. Sitting upright she saw she was lying on a wide cushioned couch lined with silk. The tent she was in was supported by eight beams and decorated with tapestries and vases of fresh flower.

"Where am I?" she looked around her and saw to her surprise Chibi Usa lying next to her, still unconscious. "Chibi Usa-sama! Chibi Usa-sama!" Ophelia rocked Chibi Usa and slowly the other girl began to come to.

"Ophelia?" Chibi Usa propped herself up and gasped when she saw she was no longer in her Neo Moon form. "My broach!" she patted herself over but could not find the star shaped object. Seeing Chibi Usa's reaction Ophelia also noticed for the first time that she was no longer Sailor Somnus. She reached up and touched her hair but could not feel either of the two roses she usually wore.

Panicking wasn't going to do her any good, Chibi Usa swallowed. She had to remain calm, she told herself. She remembered seeing Ophelia being rendered unconscious by a metallic figure but nothing after that. Now they've woken up in a strange place with their transformation items missing. This could only mean they've been taken prisoner by the enemy. Ophelia seem to have come to the same conclusion as the girls met each other's eyes. They have to try to get out of this place, but they mustn't do so blindly.

"I'll go and take a look at the outside," Chibi Usa whispered to Ophelia who nodded back.

Chibi Usa climbed off the couch and carefully stepped over to the tent entrance. She meant to peep outside and see what the situation was, but before her hand could reach the flap of the tent the loud clap of marching feet approached. The Earth princess barely had enough time to recoil her arm before the flap of the tent opened and Demetrius stood at the doorway with two stern-faced body guards behind him.

Chibi Use stared like the proverbial deer in headlights at Demetrius. The handsome youthful face, the light smile, the soft white hair; it was all so similar. "Helios…?" Chibi Usa muttered without thinking, but the thought evaporated when she gazed into Demetrius' eyes. They were not warm and golden, but blue and intelligent: the eyes of a brilliant man, tinged with a chilling ruthlessness that made one shiver.

Demetrius smiled at the princess who finally woke from the magnetism of his eyes when he said, "I'm glad to see you are doing well, Princess Small Lady. I hope you and Ophelia-san had a restful sleep last night?"

Chibi Usa took a step back involuntarily while her face flushed from being caught off guard by this young man's alluring appearance. Demetrius for his part seemed to enjoy the surprise that he had caused for Chibi Usa and continued to smile sweetly at her. Beyond them, Ophelia stood up and fixed Demetrius with her own cool blue eyes and asked, "Since it seems you are aware of whom we are why have you brought us here?"

Walking further into the room, Demetrius met Ophelia's gaze casually. "I wish for you to remain a while as my guests. That is my true and honest intention, I swear to you."

"And that includes confiscating our personal belongings?"

"I cannot extend my hospitalities if my guests decide to leave unexpectedly. Please do not be concerned however, as they will be returned to you, safe and sound," Demetrius replied, being purposely vague on when exactly that would happen.

"Your way of inviting guests was rather rude though, I have to say," Chibi Usa said to him, not bothering to hide the sarcasm in her voice.

"Yes, I admit to that, and I hope you will accept my apologies." Demetrius offered her a repentant smile which only made his boyish face look even more charming. "But you see, it was a last minute decision and I was limited in my options in ways of invitation."

Chibi Usa's wariness towards Demetrius deepened with every minute she spent with him. This man may have reminded her of Helios, but the two were worlds apart in terms of personality and conduct.

Ophelia for her part certainly was very in control of herself and acted calmly as she tried to tease information out of Demetrius. "You have not answered my first question, Lord Demetrius," the elegantly clad young woman said.

With two sets of sharp female eyes on him, Demetrius chuckled lightly to himself. These girls were just as tough as he thought they might be. It wouldn't hurt to divulge a little of his plans right now, and in fact doing so might actually help in confirming some of his own lingering suspicions. He leaned against a small tea table and with a nod of his head at his guards was left alone in the tent with the two young women.

"As I said, I was speaking the truth when I said I wish the two of you could stay here a while as my guests," Demetrius said frankly. "However, I am expecting a visitor soon. I would like you to serve as my witnesses to our meeting when he arrives tomorrow. I hope you will grant me this favor, and in fact I think you will be eager to meet him as well."

At his words, both Chibi Usa and Ophelia felt a sense of foreboding in the Macedonian king's words. "By that, you mean Helios-sama?" Ophelia said slowly. Chibi Usa's eyes grew wide. Unlike Ophelia, who had been told privately about Demetrius' first letter to Helios by her brother, Chibi Usa had no idea Demetrius intended to meet Helios face to face.

"Yes," Demetrius closed his eyes and smiled, as if savoring the thought. When he opened his eyes again there was a light in his eyes, glowing like the fire of obsession. "I have wanted to meet him face to face for a long time. But I suppose I am being somewhat dishonest in that claim. I do want to meet him, but what I really want to see is something that he possesses: an item called the Golden Crystal."

A gasp was heard in the room. Ophelia's eyes shifted to Chibi Usa and saw her suddenly looking pale. Ophelia was bewildered, but Demetrius knew by Chibi Usa's reaction that his bet to reveal this bit of information had been correct. He continued on as before, "I know about its powers, the incredible strength that it bestows upon its possessor and I want to have that power for myself. That, above all, is the reason why I want to meet him."

"You can't!"

Chibi Usa's alarmed cry turned Ophelia's bewilderment into shock. "You can't do that! He…he'd-!" Chibi Usa chocked off the words she wanted to say, realized she might have spoken too much. Demetrius however, seemed to have satisfied whatever he was after and pushed himself away from the table and turned to the door.

"I have answered your question Ophelia-san. Until Helios arrives, I hope you and Princess Small Lady will enjoy your stay here," he said cordially before disappearing behind the flap of the tent. With Demetrius gone, Ophelia rushed up to Chibi Usa and found her trembling.

Despite words of concern from Ophelia, none of it registered then with Chibi Usa. She had never imagined what sort of a threat Demetrius posed to Helios. It wasn't simply Rhodes he was after, she realized: he was also after Helios' life and much, much more.

* * *

A/N I probably haven't finished a chapter this quickly in a long time; at least not since high school. (sweat drop) Hope you guys enjoyed it. There's gone be more fighting, more drama, and more revelations in the future chapters so please look forward to it!


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